Panthers sign top UFA Reinhart to 8-year extension

The summer's top unrestricted free agent isn't going anywhere.

The Florida Panthers re-signed star forward Sam Reinhart to a maximum-term eight-year extension, the team announced Monday.

The contract carries an $8.625-million AAV, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Reinhart's new deal slots him as Florida's third-highest-paid player behind captain Aleksander Barkov ($10 million) and Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5 million).

Reinhart enjoyed a monster regular season in which he scored 57 goals - including a league-leading 27 tallies on the power play - and 94 points in 82 games. His production was helped along by his 24.5 shooting percentage, the highest in the NHL.

The 28-year-old placed fourth in Selke Trophy voting as one of the league's best defensive forwards. He finished the campaign tied for ninth among all forwards in defensive goals above replacement (6.3), and the Panthers controlled 63.6% of the goals and 59.7% of the expected goals at five-on-five with Reinhart on the ice, per Evolving-Hockey.

Reinhart went on to score the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Game 7 to help the Panthers win their first championship in franchise history. His 16 playoff points (10 goals, six assists) in 24 contests were the fifth most on the team.

Florida pried Reinhart, then a restricted free agent, away from the Buffalo Sabres in July 2021 in exchange for goaltender Devon Levi and a 2022 first-round pick. The Panthers signed him to a three-year, $19.5-million pact soon after.

Reinhart's 121 goals in 242 games since arriving in the Sunshine State are the most on the team over that span, while his 243 points are second only to captain Aleksander Barkov.

The Sabres selected Reinhart with the second overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. He's totaled 255 goals and 538 points in 696 career NHL games.