The NHL is entering the home stretch of the regular season and this portion of the campaign has not been kind to the suddenly struggling Florida Panthers.
The Panthers entered their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 14 boasting a sublime 45-18-4 record. From that day on, however, the Panthers have gone 2-7-1 in their last 10 games through April 2, although they have done enough to secure a postseason berth already.
Something the Panthers have not secured yet? The signature of pending unrestricted free agent forward Sam Reinhart, who talked at large about his future with NHL insider Pierre LeBrun in an interview published over The Athletic on Wednesday, April 3.
“(Not having an extension offer) hasn’t been an issue at all, honestly,” Reinhart told LeBrun. “I think the relationship that we have, me and (Panthers GM) Billy (Zito), me and the organization, it’s all positive, all mutual.”
Even though the Panthers have yet to offer Reinhart a new contract, as the player himself revealed to LeBrun, the interest in reaching a deal seems to be mutual.
“There have been very preliminary discussions between Reinhart’s camp and the Panthers,” LeBrun wrote in his story. “Both sides have a desire to get it done, but there haven’t been any meaningful negotiations as of yet.”
Sam Reinhart Is Not Worried About the Future
It’s fair to assume that Reinhart, whether it comes from the Panthers or any other NHL organization, will get plenty of offers (and dollars) come July and the start of free agency.
“I’m very comfortable with [the talks] being ongoing. We’ve got bigger things in mind the next,” Reinhart told LeBrun. “I’m not losing sleep over it by any means.”
Reinhart is having a career year in Florida. He has scored 53 goals in 77 contests through games played on April 4. He ranks second in the goalscoring leaderboard trailing only Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Auston Matthews (63). Reinhart’s 89 points are the 11th-most in the NHL.
“Sam has had a wonderful year and I’m proud and happy for him,” Zito told LeBrun. “Wonderful achievement. I think around 100 players all-time have (scored 50 goals in a season). But I know his focus is on winning.”
The Panthers GM expanded on the talks with Reinhart for a contract extension before he hits the open market, preventing him from reaching a deal with another franchise and losing such a talented player for nothing in July.
“Sometimes the contracts take time,” Zito told LeBrun. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“I believe we will find the right contract for Sam and the Panthers.”
Sam Reinhart Will Have a Tough Decision to Make Soon
If Reinhart wants to extend his contract with the Panthers, however, he might have to lower his expectations and his yearly income. That’s because Florida doesn’t project to have a lot of cap room available to fit him at market value.
“Reinhart would have to take less than what the July 1 market could offer,” LeBrun reported. According to PuckPedia, the Panthers will have more than $20.8 million available entering July. That should be more than enough to fit Reinhart, although allocating a deal of Reinhart’s projected magnitude, along with re-signing other pending free agents, might be difficult to pull off.
Reinhart is playing the final season of a $6.5 million AAV deal. Considering his breakout campaign and the fact that he will finish the season as a top-3 goalscorer in the NHL, that figure will only go up next summer.
“Absolutely, for sure there’s a couple of sides to it,” Reinhart said about the upcoming negotiations and potentially adjusting his expectations. “You know when you’re trying to make a decision there’s a lot that goes into it.
“This place checks a lot of boxes, that’s for sure.”
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