Sam Reinhart was a solid NHL contributor for the Buffalo Sabres. Now he's building a potentially strong Hockey Hall of Fame case after helping the Florida Panthers win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. His trade to the Cats changed the trajectory of his career.
Reinhart, who was 25 when he was dealt to Florida in 2021, spoke with Dan Rosen of NHL.com as the Panthers prepare to chase a three-peat and seemingly took an insidious shot at Buffalo.
"I got asked, 'What would my 5-year-old self think if I won two Stanley Cups?' and I said, 'He would be less shocked than my 25-year-old self,'" the All-Star forward said.
As Reinhart chases his third straight title with the Cats, their Atlantic division rival Sabres are still mired in a 14-year playoff drought, the longest such streak in NHL history.
It's a story that illustrates how much of a player's career is linked to the team they play for, regardless of their individual talent or upside.
Sam Reinhart's success with the Florida Panthers wouldn't have been possible with the Buffalo Sabres
It was less than five minutes into the first period of Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final when Reinhart stole the puck from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard and netted the opening goal while falling to the ice.
The 29-year-old British Columbia native would score an eye-popping four goals on that June night as the Panthers secured their second straight Cup. It was also the second consecutive time the winger played the role of hero as he tallied the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2024 Final.
His success in Florida goes far beyond those memorable moments, too.
Reinhart, who never scored more than 65 points in a season across seven years with the Sabres, has surpassed that total in every campaign with the Panthers.
The 2014 draft's second overall pick has tallied 324 points (160 goals and 164 assists) in 321 regular-season games for the Cats, including a remarkable 57 goals in 2023-24. He's added 56 points (32 goals and 24 helpers) across 76 playoff appearances.
Reinhart earned an All-Star game selection in 2024, finished top five in Selke Trophy voting each of the past two years and helped Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off gold medal in February.
"It's incredible. You see it around the league a lot, guys getting put in different positions and succeeding, but what's not really talked about is the work you do in those years waiting for your opportunity," he told Rosen. "[Sam Bennett] or myself or other guys who get put in different situations, it's not just, they go there and all of a sudden, they're much better. It's the years of work put in before that. That was always my mentality, just be ready for an opportunity and be the best I can possibly be when that opportunity comes."
That's the bottom line. It's easy for fans to wonder what could have been with Reinhart in Buffalo, but it's no guarantee (and in reality quite improbable) the dynamic two-way winger would have become such a game-changing force for the Sabres. Environment matters.
Reinhart is far from alone when it comes to living his best hockey life after leaving the 716 in recent years. He's part of a star-studded group that includes Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly and former Panthers teammate Brandon Montour, among others.
That's not to say the 6-foot-1 winger couldn't have taken his game to another level in Buffalo, but he wouldn't be a two-time champion averaging a point per game over a four-year span.
Sabres fans dream of a day where their team will become a destination. An organization that's a perennial Cup threat that's capable of attracting impact players on team-friendly contracts, which makes the roster-building process a lot easier.
That's a long-term goal. For now, Buffalo is just trying to get itself away from laughingstock status by reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
The polar opposite nature of the two franchises is a major reason why Reinhart is now recognized as one of the NHL's best players rather than just another modest producer who never lived up to his draft pedigree.