As he enters contract year, Panthers’ Sam Reinhart makes his long-term intentions known
Sam Reinhart is at a critical juncture of his career.
The 27-year-old forward is heading into the final year of his three-year deal with the Florida Panthers and is eligible to be a free agent for the first time in his NHL career at the end of the 2023-24 season.
But if things go Reinhart’s way, he won’t be leaving South Florida any time soon.
“It is not something I stress over or lose sleep over too much,” Reinhart said Wednesday before throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a Miami Marlins game. “They know I want to be here. I know they want me here.”
Reinhart has been an instrumental player for the Panthers since being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the 2021 NHL Draft and promptly signing that three-year, $19.5 million deal. He set a career-high with 82 points (33 goals, 49 assists) in the 2021-22 season and followed it up with 67 points (31 goals, 36 assists) last season as Florida marched its way to the Stanley Cup Final. Of his 64 goals, 32 came on the power play. He had eight goals and five assists during Florida’s playoff run.
While Reinhart has expressed his interest in staying in Florida long-term, he’s not going to let contract talks distract from his and the team’s ultimate goal: Making another run for the Stanley Cup.
“We have no problems sort of waiting it out,” Reinhart said, “so I am just looking forward to the start of the season being here. We have both expressed our interests and our desire for me to be here. And that’s exciting. My focus is solely on the start of camp and the start of the season.”
Training camp is right around the corner. The Panthers are less than two weeks away from hitting the ice ahead of the 2023-24 season, with preseason games beginning on Sept. 25 and the regular season starting on Oct. 12. It was a short offsesaon for the Panthers — that’s the nature of being one of the final two teams playing at the end of the season — but there’s an excitement around the team as it prepares for another playoff run.
And unlike his share of teammates who are recovering from injuries, Reinhart made it through the season relatively unscathed.
“It was short but you’re still ready to come back, still excited to get back,’’ Reinhart said. “[The playoff run] almost takes less to get back into it. It takes less time on the ice to get back into it. We’re excited to get back into it, everyone is filtering in and excited for another challenge this season. … It’s a short offseason but it definitely makes you want to play more especially coming up short like we did. We are motivated.”
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