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 team91裸聊视频檚 top goal scorer.
These are actual examples:
91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 hard to deal with.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 got a terrible attitude.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 mean to small animals, squirrels especially.91裸聊视频�
To be clear, Maurice means absolutely none of those things. Reinhart can become a free agent on July 1, and the jabs 91裸聊视频� all done in jest 91裸聊视频� are Maurice91裸聊视频檚 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 Bure91裸聊视频檚 mark of 59.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a big, big number,91裸聊视频� Maurice said. 91裸聊视频淭here isn91裸聊视频檛 a cheat part in his game. And what91裸聊视频檚 impressive about the 60 is he didn91裸聊视频檛 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 91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 not how he gets his goals. What91裸聊视频檚 great about him is he scored 60 goals and that clearly is the headline, but it91裸聊视频檚 not necessarily the best part of his game.91裸聊视频�
Here is what Florida91裸聊视频檚 coach considers the best part, and there91裸聊视频檚 no metric for this on the stat sheet: Maurice simply raves about how smart Reinhart is, saying he is one of the very smartest he91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频� 57 or more goals, 24.5% or better shooting 91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淗e is awesome,91裸聊视频� Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. 91裸聊视频淗e can score from any position. He91裸聊视频檚 smart. He91裸聊视频檚 not only scoring goals but he91裸聊视频檚 a key player on the penalty kill as well and in the defensive zone. It91裸聊视频檚 so much fun to see him have that success.91裸聊视频�
The Panthers 91裸聊视频� Stanley Cup finalists last season 91裸聊视频� 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. They91裸聊视频檙e awaiting either Boston or Toronto in Round 2.
91裸聊视频淏est time of year,91裸聊视频� 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 wasn91裸聊视频檛 elsewhere: He had seven goals in the season91裸聊视频檚 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. It91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淚 think when you get off to a better start, it makes everything else easier,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频� but, fortunately, didn91裸聊视频檛 have to go down that road.91裸聊视频�
Scoring 60 goals in a season 91裸聊视频� counting playoffs 91裸聊视频� 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 you91裸聊视频檇 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 91裸聊视频� Jagr, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Connor McDavid among them 91裸聊视频� seem pretty certain to be headed there once eligible. Clearly, the 60 Club is rare air, and Reinhart now owns some hockey history.
91裸聊视频淲hen he hit the 50-goal mark, I wondered how many other 50-goal scorers I91裸聊视频檝e coached,91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频� 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 he91裸聊视频檇 never had a player score 50 times before the playoffs until Reinhart went for 57 this season.
91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 how rare it is,91裸聊视频� Maurice said.
Reinhart knew people would make a fuss when he hit certain milestones 91裸聊视频� 40 goals, 50 goals, now 60 with the three playoff tallies 91裸聊视频� but has insisted all season that there is a bigger goal. The Panthers have never won a Stanley Cup.
91裸聊视频淵ou want to be back. You want to have that opportunity again,91裸聊视频� Reinhart said. 91裸聊视频淚 think that91裸聊视频檚 been driving our team from the start of the year.91裸聊视频�
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