NHL Three Stars: Avalanche's Makar, Penguins' Crosby and Panthers' Reinhart Prove Their Value

The NHL's top three players of the week make Adam Proteau wonder whether Cale Makar will improve even more, what Sidney Crosby's next contract could look like and whether Sam Reinhart is pricing himself out of the Florida Panthers' plans.

It’s time, once again, for THN.com’s NHL three stars of the week. For this file, we’ve examined the results of the past seven days in the NHL and picked out the three NHLers with the best effect on their team's play. Let’s get straight to it:

The Panthers continued to ascend the Atlantic Division standings this week, and Reinhart has led the way for them. In four games, the 28-year-old generated four goals and seven points while averaging 20:48 of ice time – and that included power play time (4:44) and shorthanded minutes (2:01).

Reinhart now leads Florida in goals (13) and points (24 – seven more points than the next-most productive Panther). He’s scheduled to be a UFA at the end of this season, and the salary cap-strapped Panthers will be challenged to keep him under contract beyond this summer.

Reinhart’s next deal could prove to be his most lucrative, and unless Florida GM Bill Zito figures out a way to give Reinhart a major raise on his current $6.5-million contract, Reinhart will go to the UFA market, and there will be a lineup of teams who’ll bid on his services. He’s thriving at exactly the right time, and the Panthers really can’t afford to let him go.

In only three games this week, Crosby led the NHL in goals (five), and he was second in the league in points (seven). Not bad for someone who is 36 years old, right?

In 16 games this season, Crosby tops the Penguins in goals (12) and points (22), putting him on a pace to amass 61 goals and 112 points in 82 games. That would demolish his current career high in goals (51, set in 2009-10) and his points total would be the second best of his career (the best being his 120-point mark in 2006-07.) It’s difficult to envision Crosby once again finding ways to impress the hockey world, but here we are, and he’s continuing to thrive, even when the Penguins are struggling as a team.

Crosby has one season left to go on his current contract that pays him an average annual cap hit of $8.7 million, and it will be intriguing to see how Pens GM Kyle Dubas approaches Crosby’s contract status. Crosby doesn’t need to break the bank on a new deal, but Dubas also doesn’t want to insult Crosby with a lowball offer.

Crosby still has lots left in the tank, and the Penguins are still built around him (as well as fellow stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang), so it’s easy to see Crosby taking a similar payday as the one he has at present. He will likely be a lifetime Penguin, and the only question surrounding his status in Pittsburgh is how many years he wants to play. He’s earned the right to be the person who decides the final chapters of his Hockey-Hall-of-Fame-caliber career, and the Pens should be catering to him every step of the way.

Makar led the NHL this week in assists (seven) and points (eight) while averaging 23:58 in three games. With 20 assists and 24 points in 16 games, the 25-year-old blueliner is on pace for a 102-assist, 123-point season – that would be an astonishing jump from his current career-best 58-assist, 86-point performance from 2021-22. He even required the fewest games among all defensemen in NHL history to reach 200 career assists, doing it in 254 games, nine fewer than Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, per NHL Stats.

We all know Makar was one of the favorites to win another Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, but on the offensively potent Avalanche, he’s on course to raise his overall game to a new level. He’s a Grade-A talent who knows his strengths and weaknesses, and Avs coach Jared Bednar thanks his lucky stars every day that he can lean on Makar to dominate puck possession and keep the puck in Colorado’s offensive zone.

Makar still has room to grow his game, which must terrify opposing goalies. He’s about as creative a force as there is in the NHL, and it doesn’t seem like anyone can stop him from imposing his will on games.