Expect Sam Reinhart to Stay in Florida, Brandon Montour is a Question Mark
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun joined SportsCenter with Jay Onrait and was asked about the Florida Panthers signing Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour to extensions and if they can get both done.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
NHL Rumors: Sam Reinhart Continues To Raise His Value
Jay Onrait: “Then you’ve got Bill Zito, the GM in Florida; he’s got a whole other bunch of stuff to worry about because, as we said, the timeline is so tight, and he has two major free agents, unrestricted free agents in Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour. Pierre, this is like a lot for Zito to deal with. Can he get one or both of them signed, do you think?”
Pierre LeBrun: “Yeah, I think I have a feeling that he’ll get Reinhart signed and maybe not Montour. I think it’s too much to get both signed, and we’ll see though. He’s pulled a lot of rabbits out of the hat over the last few years and putting this juggernaut roster together.
But you’re right. What’s wild about it is that you know when you speak to both sides and the Sam Reinhart discussion there really haven’t been meaningful, meaningful contract talks the entire season, they kind of shelved that and said let’s focus on trying to go win a cup and then we’ll, we’ll revisit this and you know, one of the things Sam Reinhart told me in early April when the Panthers were coming through Toronto is that he himself has such a good relationship with GM Bill Zito that he feels he’s in a comfortable place when it’s time to get going on this.
NHL Rumors: Florida Panthers Want to Keep Sam Reinhart Long-Term
So that was interesting. You don’t hear that from a player every time. It speaks, I think the symbiotic chemistry that’s in that Panthers organization from top to bottom. And he obviously doesn’t want to leave, but he’s gonna leave money on the table if he stays with the Florida Panthers.
He will not get what the market would be willing to pay a 50-goal scorer and, you know, tax-free in Florida. You have to account for that. But at the end of the day, Matthew Tkachuk makes nine and a half and Aleksander Barkov makes $10 million.
That’s your natural intercap in Florida, right? So I suspect that the number that comes at Reinhart, just before July 1, on the Panthers, probably starts with an eight.”