On Sam Reinhart's Birthday, a Celebration of His Career

Acquired in 2021 from Buffalo for a goalie prospect and a first-round pick -- which many believed to be too much at the time -- Sam Reinhart has been a mainstay in the Florida Panthers's success since. A big-time scorer with a knack for coming through in clutch situations.

Friday, Reinhart turns 31, and is still going strong.

On his birthday, we look at three "moments" in which Reinhart has proven his value:

Jun 24, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) kisses the cup after winning game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

1. Game 7, 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. Game tied at 1 between the Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. Less than five minutes left. It had been a postseason of dramatic events, and here was another. Sergei Bobrovsky made a save. Dmitry Kulikov cleared the zone. Carter Verhaeghe rushed the puck up the ice. Due to a miscommunication between Edmonton defenseman Brett Kulak and Cody Ceci, Reinhart received the pass at the right faceoff circle. Reinhart fired a quick wrist shot that beat the Oilers' goaltender Stuart Skinner short side, sneaking under Skinner's glove and arm just inside the post. The clock ticked down and the Florida Panthers celebrated their first ever Stanley Cup Championship victory 2-1 beating the Edmonton Oilers in a 4 games to 3 series win.

2. Game 6, 2025 Stanley Cup Finals. The rematch. And Reinhart went wild. He opened up his scoring sensation on a backhand-forehand move after a turnover from Evan Bouchard. He added an additional goal off redirections and plays and then finally capped off his historic night with two empty netters. The Florida Panthers once again were Stanley Cup Champions. Fun fact: Reinhart made history that night becoming only the second player in NHL history to score four goals in a Stanley-cup clinching game joining Babe Dye from 1922. In that postseason, Sam Reinhart finished 11 goals.

3. A Full Season of Stardom. So many achievements in 2023-24. Start with the 57 total goals, right behind the Russian Rocket himself, Pavel Bure. In that season, Reinhart connected on 24.5% of his 233 shots, becoming the first NHL player to hit 57+ goals at a 24.5% or higher shooting clip since Mario Lemieux in 1988-1989, according to AP News. His special teams contributions that year were remarkable as he went on to score 27 power play goals and five shorthanded goals. He was also Mr. Clutch that season as he scored 11 game winning goals in regulation and three overtime winners.

The Sam Reinhart contract extension is officially looking like one of the most brilliant front-office masterclasses in modern NHL history. 🧵👇
— David Eversole (@DavidWEversole) November 6, 2026

And the goals keep coming.

Reinhart scored Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks which brought his total goals with the Florida to 198, tying the record set by Jonathan Huberdeau for second place in franchise history. This means that soon, Reinhart will join Aleksander Barkov as the only Panthers to record at least 200 goals with the franchise, which seems crazy since he's been with the Panthers about half as long.

For all of this, Panthers fans aren't shy about saying "Happy birthday Reino!"

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