UFA Watch: Panthers’ Reinhart Scoring His Way to Major Payday

The Florida Panthers have cruised through the first half of the 2023-24 season and continue to do so as they ride a nine-game winning streak. Much of this recent success is due to the exceptional play of Sam Reinhart, a pending UFA.

Reinhart has played the majority of the season on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and new teammate Evan Rodrigues, who is also enjoying a career season with the Panthers. Coming into this year Reinhart had set career highs in goals (33), assists (49) and points (82), all of which he accomplished with the Panthers in 2021-22

This season, Reinhart is on pace to demolish the aforementioned career highs in goals and points. With 31 goals and 54 points through 42 games this season, Reinhart is looking for a big payday much like William Nylander did with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Reinhart is on pace to score just under 60 goals. The last Panthers player to get close was none other than Pavel Bure in the 2000-01 season when he scored 59 goals, a franchise single-season record.

At 28 years old, Reinhart is likely looking for something long-term; a bridge deal similar to his last pact with the Panthers seems increasingly unlikely as he continues to thrive. One of the Panthers’ biggest selling points to free agents is it’s South Florida, and who wouldn’t want to live there? On top of that, Florida is a tax-free state, and this helps GM Bill Zito in a big way when trying to get players to join the team through free agency.

The Panthers have plenty of money coming off the books as Reinhart along with defensemen Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour are all set to become UFAs at the end of the year.

In an interview with Frank Seravalli, Reinhart said contract talks with the Panthers are “positive” and “ongoing,” which is a good sign for the team as it seems Reinhart has his sights set on Florida.

“Being in a contract year isn’t something new to me,” said Reinhart. “I’ve got no problem with contract negotiations being ongoing, it’s not taking away from my preparation or how I handle day-to-day. That’s kind of where I stay in my head, kind of my focus. The interest is definitely mutual and definitely positive.”

Having the ability to negotiate with Reinhart on a long-term deal during the season is a major benefit for Zito. In the past few years, the Panthers GM has retained key pieces when it came time to open the chequebook, locking in players such as Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov.

As for a dollar value, there are a lot of things to consider when trying to come up with a number for Reinhart’s next deal. What is nearly certain is the deal would come in the six-to-eight-year range as Reinhart isn’t getting any younger and has already worked a bridge deal with the Panthers in August 2021.

That three-year, $6.5-million AAV deal looks like a steal the way he is currently producing. His next deal will come around eight years with an AAV north of $8.5 million, keeping in mind Florida’s players don’t have to deal with the taxes that some of the other teams do. Nothing is set in stone until the papers are signed, but look for the all-star weekend in Toronto to be a golden opportunity for the Panthers to get this extension signed before the season's final stretch.