It has become a running joke with the Florida Panthers. Ask coach Paul Maurice about Sam Reinhart, and he will say something less than glowing about his teamB次元官网网址檚 top goal scorer.
These are actual examples:
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 hard to deal with.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 got a terrible attitude.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 mean to small animals, squirrels especially.B次元官网网址�
To be clear, Maurice means absolutely none of those things. Reinhart can become a free agent on July 1, and the jabs B次元官网网址� all done in jest B次元官网网址� are MauriceB次元官网网址檚 faux efforts to try and deter other clubs from signing the player who has put together the biggest goal-scoring season in Panthers history. Reinhart has 60, including three in the playoffs, topping Pavel BureB次元官网网址檚 mark of 59.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a big, big number,B次元官网网址� Maurice said. B次元官网网址淭here isnB次元官网网址檛 a cheat part in his game. And whatB次元官网网址檚 impressive about the 60 is he didnB次元官网网址檛 hang out on the power play and if he was on the ice for empty-netters it was the right thing for him to be on the ice B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 not how he gets his goals. WhatB次元官网网址檚 great about him is he scored 60 goals and that clearly is the headline, but itB次元官网网址檚 not necessarily the best part of his game.B次元官网网址�
Here is what FloridaB次元官网网址檚 coach considers the best part, and thereB次元官网网址檚 no metric for this on the stat sheet: Maurice simply raves about how smart Reinhart is, saying he is one of the very smartest heB次元官网网址檚 ever coached.
The way Reinhart took advantage of his openings this season sort of shows those smarts. He had 57 goals in the regular season while connecting on 24.5% of his shots that reached the net. Nobody in the NHL had done that B次元官网网址� 57 or more goals, 24.5% or better shooting B次元官网网址� since Mario Lemieux in 1988-89.
In fact, the 28-year-old Reinhart is one of only five players to ever put up those numbers. The others: Lemieux, Jari Kurri (who did it twice), Wayne Gretzky (who did it twice) and Mike Bossy. All four are in the Hall of Fame.
B次元官网网址淗e is awesome,B次元官网网址� Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. B次元官网网址淗e can score from any position. HeB次元官网网址檚 smart. HeB次元官网网址檚 not only scoring goals but heB次元官网网址檚 a key player on the penalty kill as well and in the defensive zone. ItB次元官网网址檚 so much fun to see him have that success.B次元官网网址�
The Panthers B次元官网网址� Stanley Cup finalists last season B次元官网网址� are back in the second round of the playoffs for a third consecutive season, all coming with Reinhart on their roster since his arrival after seven seasons with Buffalo. TheyB次元官网网址檙e awaiting either Boston or Toronto in Round 2.
B次元官网网址淏est time of year,B次元官网网址� said Reinhart, who is from West Vancouver.
Reinhart is in the final year of a three-year, $19.5 million contract. He showed right away that his mind wasnB次元官网网址檛 elsewhere: He had seven goals in the seasonB次元官网网址檚 first six games, 15 goals through 21 games and kept the pace up the whole way.
He played all 82 games (for the second straight year), led the league with 27 power-play tallies and had 11 game-winning goals. ItB次元官网网址檚 not like his goal barrage came out of nowhere: Reinhart had scored at least 20 in seven of his first eight NHL seasons, plus had 33 and 31 goals, respectively, in his first two seasons with the Panthers.
B次元官网网址淚 think when you get off to a better start, it makes everything else easier,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 allowed me to not really focus on anything personal. It might have been a little bit harder had I got off to a poor start B次元官网网址� but, fortunately, didnB次元官网网址檛 have to go down that road.B次元官网网址�
Scoring 60 goals in a season B次元官网网址� counting playoffs B次元官网网址� is something only 45 players in NHL history have done. There are 17 players who have done it multiple times and that list is headlined by names youB次元官网网址檇 expect: Gretzky and Bossy each had seven such seasons, while Guy Lafleur and Jaromir Jagr had five apiece.
Of the 45 that have hit the 60-goal mark in a season, 21 are already in the Hall of Fame and several others B次元官网网址� Jagr, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Connor McDavid among them B次元官网网址� seem pretty certain to be headed there once eligible. Clearly, the 60 Club is rare air, and Reinhart now owns some hockey history.
B次元官网网址淲hen he hit the 50-goal mark, I wondered how many other 50-goal scorers IB次元官网网址檝e coached,B次元官网网址� Maurice said.
The answer: None, in a regular season. Matthew Tkachuk had 51 for Florida last year, including playoffs.
There have been 244 players who have scored goals with Maurice as their coach, but none of them getting 50 in a regular season B次元官网网址� until now. Maurice has been a head coach for 26 seasons, racking up more games behind the bench in that span than anyone else besides Scotty Bowman in NHL history, and heB次元官网网址檇 never had a player score 50 times before the playoffs until Reinhart went for 57 this season.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 how rare it is,B次元官网网址� Maurice said.
Reinhart knew people would make a fuss when he hit certain milestones B次元官网网址� 40 goals, 50 goals, now 60 with the three playoff tallies B次元官网网址� but has insisted all season that there is a bigger goal. The Panthers have never won a Stanley Cup.
B次元官网网址淵ou want to be back. You want to have that opportunity again,B次元官网网址� Reinhart said. B次元官网网址淚 think thatB次元官网网址檚 been driving our team from the start of the year.B次元官网网址�
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