2024-25 Season Spotlight: Sam Reinhart
The Panthers' silent assassin
At 13-9-1, Florida is suffering from a minor Cup hangover. Oddly enough, the one Panther who seemed destined to drop off is intent on proving that his contract year was no fluke.
Sam Reinhart is on pace to eclipse his 57-goal, 94-point campaign while continuing to flourish at both ends of the ice. The $69 million man didn’t miss a beat while Aleksander Barkov was sidelined in October either. Simply put, he does indeed belong among the most complete forwards in the sport.
Here’s how he’s picking up right where he left off.
Close-Range Offense
Unlike his production, Reinhart’s toolkit hasn’t undergone some wild upgrade over the years. The 11th-year pro remains a subpar skater (below the 50th percentile) with keen hockey sense and phenomenal hand-eye coordination. Those traits just needed the optimal environment in which to shine.
The Panthers—specifically Paul Maurice’s Panthers—are tailor-made for him.
Their forecheck runs opponents into the ground and their playmaking pounces as the dust settles. Meanwhile, he gets the jump on opponents not through speed but processing speed. He boasts a rare knack for sifting through the rubble to stay one move ahead of the competition. Combine their imposing puck pressure with his anticipation, and the end result is cut-throat offense (FLA 13):
Due to his modest wheels, Reinhart’s focus is squarely on home plate. Rather than parking himself there or sprinting to the far post, he makes micro-adjustments to out-leverage or evade defenders, inching a path to an upper hand. As teams feel compelled to defend shots from the blue line, he might circle the net to free up his stick and disrupt the goaltender at the last second. Try to tie him up, and he might meet the shooter for a longer-range deflection. In the high slot, he might fade away from traffic for a sudden one-timer.
His OZ progression constantly shows his teammates quality targets, yet he does so in such a quiet manner that he lulls defenses to sleep before sinking the dagger in. His low-key aura belies his presence in the dirty areas:
Reinhart ranks in the 90th percentile in mid-range shots and 89th percentile in high-danger bids. He knocks on the doorstep, on repeat. Moreover, the 29-year-old’s offense teems with cunning and touch. His deflections are automatic, he minds his foot placement around the crease and he does well to take a bit of heat off his slot wristers to ensure that he hits the mark on contested releases.
Oh, and there’s his NHL-best finish from the bumper. Whether Barkov (flank) or Matthew Tkachuk (goal line) is setting him up on the PP, he orients his body to gain short-lived advantages in the belly of the beast. He’s primed for anything that’s thrown in his direction.
Here’s an example of how he can smell opportunities before his counterparts can:
After Florida’s rush fizzles out, Reinhart recognizes that Washington is poised to protect the house (five men below the dots). He’ll be outgunned in tight. Therefore, as the Caps stop up to sort out their assignments, he’s already curling back against the grain and into the middle of the royal road.
He has his stick cocked and ready for three seconds before they even notice him. By then, he’s launched his slot timer on net.
During Florida’s Stanley Cup Final run in 2022-23, much was made of the team’s blinding time to attack. The Panthers swarm the puck down low, then promptly filter it off the boards and into prime real estate to catch opponents off guard. The clip below demonstrates Reinhart’s role in those designs:
With Barkov (FLA 16) poking the puck off Johnathan Kovacevic (NJ 8) and toward Carter Verhaeghe (FLA 23) below the goal line, Reinhart senses a quick-strike window.
Against most clubs, Nico Hischier (NJ 13) would be in position to break this chance up. Reinhart is savvy enough to not only hop on his platform ASAP but also drift ~5 feet back, producing a catch-and-release attempt from the high slot instead.
Wait, there’s more. He complements his masterful spacing with efficient playmaking of his own. It’s not fancy (through wide seams, passes off pad, etc.), but it keeps opponents honest. They can’t afford to blanket him if he can distribute to Barkov, Evan Rodrigues or a roving D-man:
All told, his wily close-range arsenal has yielded a sensational start to 2024-25:
He leads the entire league in goals (17) and has never produced at a higher clip (32 points in 23 games). It bears repeating that Barkov was absent for most of October. The player-scheme fit in Florida is so snug that it almost doesn’t matter who’s around him. As long as they’re playing high-octane Panthers hockey, he’ll find an unassuming way to light the lamp.
Sizzle is overrated.
Defense
Barkov and Gustav Forsling are the unquestioned lynch pins of Florida’s shutdown game. As such, Reinhart’s defensive reputation (4th place in Selke voting last season) is…a tad overblown.
This doesn’t mean he’s a bad defensive player, of course. He’s comfortably above average in that department. Although he seldom strips or smothers opposing stars, he displays a strong grasp of his responsibilities in the DZ and won’t stray outside them. That restrained do-your-job approach would bring a smile to Bill Belichick’s face. Well, maybe not.
The point is Reinhart fulfills his complementary duties quite well:
He stays on top of his mark and, perhaps thanks to his ample net-front experience, demonstrates impressive shot-blocking prowess. He reads lanes better than most and is game to lay his body on the line—even as he marches ever-closer to back-to-back 50-goal years. Maurice must love that.
Generally speaking, his defense is as subtle as his OZ brilliance. His conservative positioning often serves as a deterrent, driving the action elsewhere. In addition, he fills in adequately when Florida’s blueliners charge at puck-carriers in the NZ:
Initially aiming to provide support above the puck, Reinhart expects a change of possession and Aaron Ekblad’s (FLA 5) stand-up at the line. As the last man back, he hustles at an angle to eliminate Gabriel Vilardi’s (WPG 13) space, turning a would-be slot pass to Dylan Samberg (WPG 54) into a Panthers recovery.
Reinhart’s strongest asset in the DZ is once again a quiet one: puck management. His first touch represents the final chapter of Florida’s defensive stands:
Armed with stellar IQ but slow foot speed, he frequently gets to loose pucks first and must convert his retrievals into link-up passes in order to launch Florida’s transition. You can see his feel for his surroundings in these scenarios, as he clocks the F1’s pressure as well as his outlets, luring the former nearer to give the latter as much time as possible.
Tidy stuff.
Reinhart’s ability to close out defensive possessions curbs the damage teams can inflict when he’s out there:
Is he shadowing the Kucherovs of the world? No, but his calming influence around the puck helps the Panthers limit the opposition to one-and-dones. Then it’s straight back to the trench warfare that fuels their success.
Considering his draft pedigree (2nd overall in 2014), Reinhart’s evolution into a top-tier forward isn’t shocking. Alas, the setting was all wrong in Buffalo. The Sabres were—and still are—hoping for a savior.
That’s not who he is.
On a contender that tilts the ice and bullies its opponents to the degree that Florida does, he can dole out the telling blow as a star specialist.