Stanley Cup winning goal scorer Reinhart extended in Florida, Stamkos goes from Tampa to Nashville

Sam Reinhart, the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning canon, has signed an eight-year contract extension with the club. Tampa Bay icon Steven Stamkos is heading to Nashville as a free agent for a new challenge.

Reinhart is about to get a big payday after a season of his life

Twenty-eight-year-old Florida canon Reinhart has signed a new eight-year, $69 million contract. This will be a significant upgrade as his current three-year, $19 million contract is up. He avoided getting a last-minute taste of the free agent market.

Reinhart had the year of his life last season and negotiated a very strong position for a better contract. He set personal highs in the regular season with 94 points and 57 goals scored in 82 games. He was the second-leading scorer behind the elusive Auston Matthews of Toronto.

In the playoffs, he was one of the team’s driving forces. In 24 games, he scored 16 points, but mostly 10 goals. In addition, he scored the winning goal in the decisive seventh game against Edmonton. In 10 seasons in the NHL, he has 696 games with 538 points.

Tampa Bay icon Stamkos is coming to Nashville

Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos did not remain in Tampa Bay as an unrestricted free agent. The team brought in Jake Guentzel from Carolina instead. Stamkos really had no shortage of offers. In the end, he chose the Nashville Predators, who were gaining strength in the free agent market.

Stamkos signed a four-year, $42 million contract. Along with him, the Predators also signed Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei. Stamkos’ eight-year, $68 million contract ended in Tampa. The Lightning selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and he led the team as captain for the past 11 seasons. In addition, he led it to Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021.

Stamkos has played 1,082 regular season games over 17 seasons, accumulating 1,137 points while scoring 555 goals and collecting 582 assists. He was the reigning scorer in 2010 and 2012 and dominated the 2016 World Cup with Canada in Toronto.

This gives the Nashville Predatrors a mighty boost ahead of the upcoming season. This ambitious unit is making it clear that they are hungry for their first ever Stanley Cup. He has practically acquired the most desirable hockey players on the free agent market and will be a force to be reckoned with.

Source: NHL