Sam Reinhart speaks after Florida's 3-0 win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 9 at Amerant Bank Arena. At this time last year, Sam Reinhart was putting in the work. Entering a contract season and what should be the prime years of his career, Reinhart knew that the harder he worked and prepared, the better his chances of making all his dreams come true. Boy did that bet on himself pay off. After recording his highest career totals in both goals (33 and 31) and points (82 and 67) during his first two years with the Panthers, he blew those numbers out of the water while helping the Panthers to a Stanley Cup Championship last season. While playing in all 82 games for Florida, Reinhart logged an amazing 57 goals and 94 points, adding another 10 goals during the Cats’ postseason run. Had he decided to hit the open market, Reinhart would have been one of the most coveted players available. He likely would have drawn offers exceeding a $10 million per season AAV (average annual value). Alas, Reinhart wanted to stay in South Florida, and the Panthers very much wanted to keep him around. On the eve of free agency, Reinhart and the Panthers come to terms on an 8-year contract extension worth $69 million. It carries an AAV of $8.625 million. Hopefully that means Panthers fans will cheer a little bit louder for Reinhart next season, because clearly, he wanted to stay with them as badly as they wanted to see him remain in Florida. We’ll wrap up this Reinhart appreciation post with a couple videos, including one that compiled all 57 of his goals from last season. Enjoy! [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7DvaNiA-I[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA8-e9Co7-4[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhQ2qG0xLQ[/embed] LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Gustav Forsling honored with Guldpucken as Sweden’s top hockey player [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/gustav-forsling-honored-with-guldpucken-as-swedens-top-hockey-player] Florida Panthers announce new streaming service for locally produced games [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/florida-panthers-announce-new-streaming-service-for-locally-produced-games] Stanley Cup spending time with Panthers in New England, soon heading back north of the border [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/stanley-cup-spending-time-with-panthers-in-new-england-soon-heading-back-north-of-the-border] Redemption Rewind: Sasha Barkov earns second Selke Trophy, quietly becoming NHL's top two-way forward [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/redemption-rewind-sasha-barkov-earns-second-selke-trophy-quietly-becoming-nhls-top-two-way-forward] If indulging in Aaron Ekblad trade rumors, first understand how Panthers build roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/if-indulging-in-aaron-ekblad-trade-rumors-first-understand-how-panthers-build-roster] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
