| Sam Reinhart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Reinhart with theBuffalo Sabres in 2016 | |||
| Born | (1995-11-06)November 6, 1995 (age 30) West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams | Florida Panthers Buffalo Sabres | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 2nd overall,2014 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Samson Reinhart[1] (born November 6, 1995) is a Canadian professionalice hockey player for theFlorida Panthers of theNational Hockey League (NHL). Reinhart was selected second overall by theBuffalo Sabres in the2014 NHL entry draft.[2]
Reinhart was selected 15th overall by theKootenay Ice in the 2010WHL Bantam Draft. Reinhart was a member of theEd Chynoweth Cup-winning team in the2010–11 season. He was awarded theJim Piggott Memorial Trophy in2011–12, having been the league's top rookie that season. Along withMax andGriffin, he is one of three hockey-playing brothers, and are the sons of formerNational Hockey League (NHL)All-StarPaul Reinhart. Reinhart was ranked fourth onNHL Central Scouting Bureau's 2014 midterm rankings for North American skaters.
Reinhart won back-to-backStanley Cups with the Florida Panthers in2024 and2025.
Reinhart has represented Canada at fiveInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) sanctioned events, two at theunder-18 level, two at theworld junior level, and one at theIce Hockey World Championships. He won gold in2016, gold in2015 and bronze in2012 at the under-18 level. Additionally, Reinhart represented Canada Pacific at the2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and Canada at the2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
Reinhart was born inWest Vancouver[3] to Theresa andPaul Reinhart.[4] His father was aNational Hockey League (NHL)defenceman,[5] and is now astock marketfinancier and promoter.[6] Reinhart worejersey number 23,[7] the same number that his father wore in the NHL, while in Buffalo.[8]
Sam has two brothers:Max andGriffin. Max was selected in the third-round in2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames and played in their organization. Sam played alongside Max on the Ice'sEd Chynoweth Cup-championship team in the2010–11Western Hockey League (WHL) season as well as the2011–12 season.[9] Griffin was selected fourth overall in the2012 draft by theNew York Islanders,[10] and has played against Sam's Ice with theEdmonton Oil Kings (winning his own Ed Chynoweth Cup andMemorial Cup championships) in the WHL from 2011–12 to2013–14.[11]
Growing up inWest Vancouver, Reinhart attendedCollingwood School.[12] He also playedtennis in high school,[13] and still plays the sport in the offseason. Besides ice hockey and tennis, Reinhart playedbaseball,lacrosse andsoccer, and considers himself a huge soccer fan.[14]
Reinhart playedminor ice hockey at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver.[15] He started out as a defenceman, but eventually ended up as a centre.[16] From there, he went on to play for the Vancouver Northwest Giants of theBC Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML) alongside future NHLerAlexander Kerfoot and future PWHLerKaleigh Fratkin.[17] In his first and only full season with the Northwest Giants, Reinhart tallied up 38 goals along with 40 assists. With the Northwest Giants, Reinhart won the 2010–11 BCMML championship and finished fourth in the2011 Telus Cup.[18][19] In the Telus Cup, he received the Top Scorer and Top Forward awards.[20] Reinhart also participated in the2011 Canada Winter Games midway through the 2010–11 season, winning gold with the British Columbia U16 team.[21]
TheKootenay Ice selected Reinhart 15th overall in the 2010WHL Bantam Draft. He was selected three rounds ahead of oldest brother Max when he was drafted in 2007 and was selected 12 positions behind of Griffin when he was drafted third-overall in 2009.[22][23] Reinhart joined the Kootenay Ice for four games in the2010–11 season. In his first WHL game, he scored thegame-winning goal against theEdmonton Oil Kings.[24] That was also the first WHL game in which all three Reinhart brothers were playing.[25] Reinhart suited up for seven WHL playoffs games, registering zero points in the process, as part of the Ice'sEd Chynoweth Cup championship team. He played one game for the Ice in the2011 Memorial Cup.[26]
In the2011–12, Reinhart registered 62 points, which put him behind only his brother Max in team scoring. His 28 goals tied for the Ice lead, and were the most by any 16-year-old rookie in the WHL, while his 62 points put him fourth among all WHL rookies in that category. Due to his excellent play in his first full season, Reinhart was awarded theJim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the top rookie in the WHL.[27]
In his second full WHL season, Reinhart was selected to represent the WHL for one game in his hometownVancouver for the annual 2012Subway Super Series against Russia; he scored the game-winning shootout goal.[28][29] Reinhart scored his firsthat-trick on January 27, 2012, against thePrince Albert Raiders.[30] He finished his second full WHL season leading the Ice in goals (35), assists (50) and points (85).[31] He was named into the WHL Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team.[32] On April 2, 2013, Reinhart was named captain of the Ice for the 2013-14 WHL season.[33]
On October 9, 2013, Reinhart registered an assist in a game against theLethbridge Hurricanes, which tied him withJohn Negrin for the Ice' franchise record for most consecutive games with an assist (8).[34] Reinhart played in the 2013 Subway Super Series for the WHL, and was the captain for the latter of the two games.[35][36] In his second Subway Super Series, he registered one assist.[37] Reinhart had a goal and an assist in the 2014CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game while playing as captain for Team Cherry; Team Cherry lost to Team Orr 4–3.[38] Reinhart's father Paul was one of the assistant coaches for Team Cherry.[39]
After being selected second overall by theBuffalo Sabres in the2014 NHL Entry Draft, Reinhart signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team.[40] After attending the Sabres' training camp, Reinhart made their opening night roster for the2014–15 season.[41] He made his NHL debut on October 9, 2014, against theColumbus Blue Jackets, becoming the sixth-youngest player to dress for the Sabres in franchise history.[42] Reinhart recorded his first NHL point, an assist on a goal byNicolas Deslauriers, on October 25 against theSan Jose Sharks.[43] This would be his only assist over nine games with the team and he was sent back to the Ice on October 31.[44] Upon being re-assigned to the Ice, Reinhart returned to his scoring form and set numerous franchise records. On January 21, 2015, Reinhart scored a goal against theSaskatoon Blades for a franchise-record 287 career points.[45] Nearly a month later, in his 238th career WHL game, he became the first player in franchise history to record 300 points.[46] He finished the season third on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 46 assists through 47 games.[47] He was assigned to the Sabres'American Hockey League affiliate, theRochester Americans, on April 9[47] although his debut was delayed due to an injury.[48] To ease his transition into professional hockey, Americans head coachChadd Cassidy used him primarily on right wing instead of his natural position of center.[49]
During the 2015 offseason, the Sabres drafted centreJack Eichel in the first round of the2015 NHL Entry Draft and acquired centreRyan O'Reilly from theColorado Avalanche. As a result, Reinhart was no longer considered the Sabres top centre and was expected to start the2015–16 season on the third line.[50] While attending the Sabres' training and development camps, head coachDan Bylsma stated that Reinhart and Eichel gave the Sabres the best chance of winning games.[51] He was also considered a long-shot candidate for theCalder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year.[52][53] Following the Sabres' training and development camps, Reinhart was named to their opening night roster for the second consecutive season.[54] Reinhart primarily played on the Sabres' third line,[51] but started seeing top line minutes with Eichel as the team began the season with an 8–9–1 record.[55] Reinhart scored his first career NHL goal on October 17, 2015, against theTampa Bay Lightning on Lightning' goaltenderBen Bishop,[56] and added five more by December 1.[51] On November 27, Reinhart began skating on the Sabres' first line with Ryan O’Reilly andEvander Kane. While they went pointless in their debut, the trio combined for eight goals and 13 points over their next three games.[57] Through six games together in December, Reinhart added four goals and one assist with 19 shots on net. He also earned praise from Bylsma, who said: “his skating has improved. His puck battles have improved. His shot has improved and it’s been pretty drastic in the last two months for Sam."[58] On January 10, Reinhart recorded his first career NHL hat-trick in a 4–2 win over theWinnipeg Jets. Reinhart subsequently became the first Sabres player to record a hat-trick since 2006 and the youngest to do so sinceJohn Tucker in 1984.[59] The win also ended a season-high six-game losing streak for the Sabres, who were 16–22–4 on the season.[60] At the start of February, Reinhart missed three games with a concussion but scored the Sabres' lone goal in his return as they fell to theBoston Bruins.[61] In the final 18 games of the season, Reinhart left O'Rielly's line and joined Eichel as the Sabres' top unit.[62] After recording a goal and an assist in a win over theOttawa Senators on March 18, he and Jack Eichel became the first pair of Sabres rookies with 20-goal seasons since 1975.[63] Over the final 18 games of the season, Reinhart and Eichel combined for 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points.[62] Reinhart finished the season ranked second on the Sabres with 23 goals and 19 assists for 42 points over 79 games.[64] He also received two votes for the Calder Trophy and 10 votes for theLady Byng Memorial Trophy and the NHL's most gentlemanly player.[65]
During the 2016 offseason, Reinhart worked with his long-time skating coach Barb Aidelbaum on his skating acceleration and playmaking skills to improve for his sophomore season.[66] After Eichel suffered a lower body injury during the preseason, Reinhart began the2016–17 season on the wing ofRyan O'Reilly andKyle Okposo. After four games with the two, Reinhart was transitioned to his natural position of centre betweenTyler Ennis andZemgus Girgensons.[67] During his first month in this position, Reinhart experienced a seven-game pointless drought that was snapped with two assists in a game against theCalgary Flames on November 21.[68] However, he continued to experiences bouts of pointlessness and was eventually transitioned back to right wing on a line with O'Rielly andWilliam Carrier.[69] When O'Rielly missed time in December due to an appendectomy, Reinhart was transitioned back to a centre position temporarily.[70] While continuing to alternate between centre and winger,[71] Reinhart maintained a team-high 15 primary assists through early January.[72] He missed two games due to an illness but returned to the Sabres' lineup following theirbye-week in late February.[73] Reinhart finished the season with a new-career high 47 points as the Sabres again failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.[74]
Reinhart began his third full season with the Sabres and fourth season with the team and in the NHL altogether as a centreman[75] but was reunited with Eichel and Kane on their wing after a slow start. Through his first 17 games of the season, Reinhart had accumulated two goals and three assists while the team maintained a losing 5–9–3 record.[76] This reunion was shortlived as head coachPhil Housley continued to shuffle the forward lines in an effort to create more offense.[77] As Reinhart continued to struggle offensively through the first half of the season, scoring only 11 points in 34 games, Housley tried him back on Eichel's wing again in late December.[78] In the final 38 games of the season, Reinhart accumulated 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points.[79] On April 1, 2018, Reinhart scored his second career NHL hat-trick in a 7–4 win over theNashville Predators.[80] The hat-trick helped Reinhart finished the regular season with career-highs in games played, goals, points, power-play goals, and power-play points.
On September 19, 2018, Reinhart signed a two-year, $7.3 million contract extension to remain with the Sabres.[79]
On October 25, 2020, Reinhart signed a one-year, $5.2 million contract with the Sabres.[81]
On July 24, 2021, Reinhart was traded by the Sabres to theFlorida Panthers in exchange forDevon Levi and a2022 first-round pick (Jiří Kulich).[82] On August 11, Reinhart signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Panthers.[83]
On June 24, 2024, in game 7 of the2024 Stanley Cup Final, Reinhart scored the most important goal in franchise history, a decisive goal that put the Panthers ahead 2–1, leading to Florida's firstStanley Cup title.
On July 1, Reinhart signed an eight-year, $69 million contract extension that keeps him with the Panthers through the 2031–32 season.[84] The2024–25 season, he scored 39 goals, the most of any Panther, and led the team in points with 81 in 79 games. He was named a finalist for theFrank J. Selke Trophy, awarded to the league's best defensive forward.[85] During the2025 playoffs, Reinhart helped the Panthers repeat asStanley Cup champions, as they once again defeated theEdmonton Oilers in theStanley Cup Final. In the Cup-clinching game 6, Reinhart had a memorable game, scoring four goals in the 5–1 Panthers' victory, thoughMatthew Tkachuk, who scored the only goal for the Panthers other than Reinhart's four, got the Cup-winning goal. This was the first time any NHL player scored four goals in a single Stanley Cup Finals game sinceMaurice Richard did so in game 1 of the1957 Stanley Cup Final.[86]
Reinhart competed for Canada Pacific in the2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, but failed to medal. Later that year, he was selected to joinCanada's under-18 team for the2012 IIHF World U18 Championships in the Czech Republic. The team lost to theUnited States in the semi-finals, but won the bronze medal game againstFinland in overtime.[87] Reinhart then captained the under-18 team at the2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament as Canada won its fifth consecutive gold medal in the event.[88] Reinhart again captained the U18 team at the2013 IIHF World U18 Championships inSochi, Russia.[89] Reinhart scored three goals and four assists to help Canada win the gold, ending the United States' record of four consecutive championships.[90]
Moving up to the U20 level, Reinhart earned a spot with thenational junior team for the2014 World Junior Championships. His brother Griffin also made the team, and they became the third pair of brothers to play for Canada at the World Junior Championships.[91] Reinhart andAaron Ekblad were the only two players on the Canadian roster eligible for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.[92] Reinhart registered two goals and three assists in the first three games of the tournament, but was held scoreless for the remainder of the tournament.[93][94] Canada lost the bronze medal game against Russia 2–1 and finished fourth. Sam Reinhart also representedTeam Canada at the2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. The team won gold as Sam served as one of two alternate captains for the team, the other beingConnor McDavid.[95] Reinhart scored the game-winning goal against team Russia in the gold medal game, which was his fifth of the tournament. Reinhart finished with a total of 5 goals and 11 points leading all players in goals and points.
Reinhart represented Team Canada at the2016 IIHF World Championship helping win Gold and finishing the tournament with four assists in 10 games.
On April 29, 2019, Reinhart was named to the Team Canada roster for the2019 IIHF World Championship held inSlovakia.[96] Reinhart helped Canada progress through to the playoff rounds before losing the final toFinland to finish with the Silver Medal on May 26, 2019.[97] He finished the tournament posting 3 goals and 5 points in 10 games.
In an interview on WGR Sports Radio 550AM, Reinhart stated he prefers to be called "Samson" as opposed to "Sam". Many Panthers fans did not know that Samson was Reinhart's full first name, and had assumed that his given name was "Samuel." Reinhart's nickname with the Sabres was "Reino", which stuck with his teammates in the Panthers.[98]
As a member of the Florida Panthers, Reinhart stepped up to care for the cat of teammate Anthony Stolarz after Stolarz left Florida and signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[99]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2010–11 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 67 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 72 | 35 | 50 | 85 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 60 | 36 | 69 | 105 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 47 | 19 | 46 | 65 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 82 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 82 | 22 | 43 | 65 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 69 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 54 | 25 | 15 | 40 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 78 | 33 | 49 | 82 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 31 | 36 | 67 | 12 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 57 | 37 | 94 | 31 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 12 | ||
| 2024–25 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 79 | 39 | 42 | 81 | 27 | 21 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 775 | 294 | 325 | 619 | 173 | 76 | 32 | 24 | 56 | 32 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Canada Pacific | U17 | 5th | 5 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Canada | U18 |  | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2012 | Canada | IH18 |  | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Canada | U18 | | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Canada | WJC | 4th | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Canada | WJC | | 7 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Canada | WC | | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Canada | WC |  | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2025 | Canada | 4NF | | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 38 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 10 | ||||
| Senior totals | 24 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Telus Cup | ||
| Top Scorer and Top Forward Awards | 2011 Telus Cup | |
| Kootenay Ice | ||
| Rookie of the Year | 2012 | [100] |
| Fan's Choice Player of the Year | 2012, 2013 | |
| MVP | 2013 | |
| WHL | ||
| Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy | 2012 | [101] |
| East Second Team All-Star | 2013 | [102] |
| East First Team All-Star | 2014 | [103] |
| Four Broncos Memorial Trophy | 2014 | [104] |
| Brad Hornung Trophy | 2014 | |
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 2024 | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 2024,2025 | [105] |
| International | ||
| 4 Nations Face-Off champion | 2025 | [106] |
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy 2011–12 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick 2014 | Succeeded by |