Florida Panthers news has been mostly positive these days. Despite a recent four-game losing streak, Florida has emerged as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. On Sunday night, star forward Sam Reinhart added to the positive news. And he joined a rather exclusive franchise club in the process.
Reinhart scored his 50th goal of the 2023-24 NHL season. His goal helped the Panthers to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. This goal makes him the second player in franchise history to score 50 in a season, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The only other player to achieve this feat for Florida is Pavel Bure.
Reinhart added to his already impressive season this year. The 28-year-old has 50 goals and 83 points on the 2023-24 season. He leads all Panthers skaters in goals and points, as well. The Vancouver native is a free agent this summer, and his performance should give him quite the market in NHL Free Agency.
Sam Reinhart has emerged for Panthers
Sam Reinhart began his career with the Buffalo Sabres as the second overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. The Vancouver native made his NHL debut in 2014-15. His first full season came a year later when he scored 23 goals and 42 points.
Reinhart played fairly well for the Sabres, though he never quite reached that next level. His best offensive season came in 2018-19 when he scored 65 points in 82 games. He consistently contributed around 50 or so points every season for a Sabres team that had promise but failed to make the playoffs.
In July 2021, the Sabres made a trade with the Panthers. Reinhart went to Florida in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick and goaltender Devon Levi. Reinhart, a restricted free agent at the time, signed a three-year contract extension with Florida following the deal.
With Florida, Reinhart broke out. He scored 30+ goals for the first time in 2021-22. Furthermore, he produced at a point-per-game pace. The Vancouver native scored 33 goals and 82 points for Florida in 78 games. The Panthers made the Stanley Cup Playoffs but failed to win the Cup.
Last year, Reinhart saw a dip in his offensive production. However, he is already climbing franchise leaderboards. The 28-year-old is already 10th all-time among Panthers skaters in terms of goals. Furthermore, he is 15th all-time in points, one point back of teammate Carter Verhaeghe, who is 14th all-time in points.
Panthers have Stanley Cup ambitions
Sam Reinhart and the Panthers went on quite the run in 2022-23. By all rights, they should not have even made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They did, however, and made quite the statement. Florida defeated the 65-win Boston Bruins in the first round in a shocking seven-game upset.
Florida caught fire soon after. In fact, they lost just one game between the end of the first round and the beginning of the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes en route to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996.
Unfortunately, the Cinderella story didn't receive the storybook ending Florida fans dreamed of. They fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. And some of those games were not particularly close. Vegas won the deciding Game 5 by a score of 9-3.
Now, Reinhart and the Panthers have their eyes on the Stanley Cup once again. They won't be the shocking underdog who came out of nowhere, though. Florida is a legitimate favorite to win it all this summer. It'll certainly be interesting to see if they can avenge their heartbreaking loss from a season ago.
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