Panthers Forward Earning Every Penny of New Contract

The Florida Panthers are getting more than they paid for with their scoring winger's new contract.

Oct 28, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) makes a pass during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

After signing a massive contract extension with the Florida Panthers this summer, Sam Reinhart was a major regression candidate. Coming off a 57-goal campaign and being rewarded with a new deal worth $69 million, the pressure was ratcheted up on the scoring winger.

But through the first 20 games of the season, the Panthers are getting another superstar performance from Reinhart. Through the beginning of the 2024 campaign, he's showing that last year was anything but a fluke while vastly outplaying his new salary cap hit of $8.625 million.

The defending Stanley Cup champions have a massive target on their back, but it's something Reinhart has taken in stride. Even as the team's dealt with injuries to key players, like captain Sasha Barkov, Reinhart has remained steady and dominant.

Through the first 20 games, he's leading the Panthers in both goals and total scoring. He has 15 goals and 30 points to top the Cats' roster and he's tied with Barkov for the most assists, also with 15.

What's even more impressive so far is his even-strength performance. Last year, Reinhart recorded nearly half of his goals on the power play. So far in 2024, just four of his 15 tallies have come on the man advantage and 11 have come during 5-on-5.

And he's not even the team's highest paid player. Coming in behind Barkov and superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk, Reinhart is the third-highest paid forward on the Panthers and the fourth-highest paid player on the team (goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and Barkov both make $10 million annually). How many teams can say their best goal scorer and arguably best point producer isn't the richest one on their team?

While Reinhart is bound to cool off at some point, by that point he will likely be pushing the 30-goal mark on the season. It's also possible this offensive production continues throughout the 2024-2025 campaign. It doesn't really matter in the end, because whichever way this progresses, Reinhart is worth every single penny the Panthers gave him this summer.

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