Sam Reinhart is a Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers, scoring the game-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling 2-1 win in Game 7 on Monday, June 24.
"It's just something you dream about, to cap it off like this," said Reinhart, in a post-game interview on Sportsnet, adding that the final series was the "toughest 12 days of our lives."
After experiencing heartbreak in last year's Stanley Cup final by losing to the Vegas Golden Knights, Reinhart and the Panthers went the distance this year, holding on to capture hockey's holy grail after nearly blowing a 3-0 series lead against the Oilers.
Facing Reinhart on the other side was Edmonton Oilers bench boss Kris Knoblauch, who was his Kootenay Ice head coach over a decade ago in Cranbrook.
Reinhart had a monster year on the stat sheet as a point-per-game player, tallying 94 points in 82 games in the regular season. He continued to find success during the playoff run, posting 10 goals and six assists in 24 games.
Reinhart is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA), coming off a three-year $19.5 million contract. In another post-game media scrum after winning the Cup, he signalled a desire to stay in Florida with the Panthers.
Going back to his major-junior days, Reinhart, who hails from West Vancouver, was drafted 15th overall in the 2010 WHL draft by the Kootenay Ice, joining the taem during it's WHL championship run in 2011.
During his time in Cranbrook, he racked up 319 points in 250 regular season games played with the Kootenay Ice.
He was drafted second overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2014, and later traded to the Florida Panthers in 2021.
