One of the biggest priorities for the Florida Panthers over the past several months was making sure not to lose Sam Reinhart to free agency.
The high-scoring, two-way forward was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
He had just completed his third season with the Panthers, racking up 121 goals and 243 points in 242 games with Florida.
Last year he exploded for an eye-popping 57 goals and 94 points during the regular season, adding another 10 goals and 16 points during Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup.
Fittingly, it was Reinhart who scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Cup Final.
It’s for those reasons and many more that Florida locked Reinhart up to an eight-year extension worth $69 million on the eve of free agency.
The deal will keep Reinhart with the Panthers through 2032, when he’s a 36-year-old veteran.
It’s exactly what both sides wanted, which each had been saying publicly for the past several months.
Last weekend, Reinhart enjoyed his 24 hours with the Stanley Cup back in the Vancouver-area, where he grew up.
His day included a unique round of golf in which Reinhart used Lord Stanley’s Cup as a ball marker on the green at Hollyburn Country Club.
While there, Reinhart spoke for the first time about his extension with Florida.
“I feel like you guys haven’t interviewed me since I’ve done the deal,” Reinhart joked. “I’ve been incognito, which has been the plan.”
His brief interaction with someone holding a microphone provided the first public comments from Reinhart regarding his new deal.
“(Signing elsewhere) was never an option for my wife and I, we wanted to be there through and through,” he said. “It all worked out. We’re thrilled with the commitment on both sides.”
Reinhart and the Panthers have set the bar pretty high for themselves.
That will happen when you win a Presidents’ Trophy and make consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final, all while maintaining a financially responsible roster that is built for sustained success.
“It’s the best place in the world to play hockey,” Reinhart said. “So we’re thrilled to be coming back for a long time.”
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