Reinhart, Panthers 'hungry for more' following Stanley Cup title last season

LAS VEGAS -- For Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers, it was a busy summer.

But with training camp around the corner and a new season on the horizon, the Panthers are getting back to the goal at hand: trying to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.

So, how does the approach change when you've already accomplished your goal?

"We're going to find out," Reinhart said Monday at the NHL North American Player Media Tour. "It certainly hasn't changed for me this summer. Talking to the guys -- we're certainly a close team that keeps in touch -- but I don't think because we won, there's no satisfaction once that puck drops.

"So, [we were] as motivated as [we've] been this summer to put ourselves in another spot [to win]. Certainly it's not easy, but we feel like we've got a good group of guys still that are hungry for more. The more opportunities you have, the better off you're going to be. And certainly the bunch of guys that we have in our locker room aren't taking this for granted."

Throughout their run in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Panthers noted that they had come back to camp in September 2023 businesslike, laser-focused on winning the Cup they had had within their grasp the previous season, when they lost in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

They were Cup-or-bust last season, and they did what they had set out to do.

It's a little different this season. Yes, their 2023 offseason was short, just like 2024. But then, they were still waiting to win. Now, they've accomplished the task. That doesn't mean they're any less hungry.

"I think that's something you learn on the fly," Reinhart said. "Certainly there's things that work for us that we're going to try and replicate. But I think it starts with that competitiveness, that hunger to win. It's a feeling we want to chase again."

The last team to repeat as Cup winners was the Tampa Bay Lightning, who accomplished the feat in 2020 and 2021. Before that, the Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2016 and 2017, but it had been two decades without a repeat winner prior to the Penguins, with the Detroit Red Wings accomplishing it in 1997 and 1998.

For Reinhart, not only did he win the Cup for the first time in June, but the forward signed a major contract to stay in Florida on July 1, an eight-year deal for which terms were not disclosed.

He now has certainty and stability, all coming after a career season in which he was second in the NHL with 57 goals. Reinhart, 28, also had 94 points, 12 more than his previous career high he set in 2021-22.

"The security is nice, something I've never had. My wife is certainly enjoying that part of it," Reinhart said. "So, we feel settled from that standpoint. It was nice to have it all wrapped up in about a week or so there and have it out of the way, so I wasn't thinking about it leading in and I wasn't having to think about it long after playoffs ended."

He never believed it would change how he handled this summer, and he was comforted to see that it didn't.

"That's certainly promising," Reinhart said. "A contract's never been something that's driven me and it's certainly not driving me now."

The 57 goals were 24 more than he had scored previously in any season, partly due to his shooting percentage of 24.5, which was also a career high.

It was something that built on itself, giving him more confidence as he saw how often he was having success.

"You never know what's going to happen on the ice," Reinhart said. "I think for me, it's what I do off the ice, it's how I handle myself off the ice, it's how I prepare, how I put myself in a position to succeed. The better off you can prepare yourself, the more confidence you're going to have and the better opportunity you're going to have to produce and do the things you want to.

"There are some things that are out of your control, but what I do off the ice is in my control."

Reinhart had eight goals in his first eight games last season and didn't slow down from there.

Can he better it?

"Absolutely," Reinhart said. "A start like last year is not something I've had throughout my career. It usually had taken me some time to get that confidence, to get feeling good and I've had some very good second halves. … I take a lot of pride in staying healthy, being ready for the end of the year and the last couple years (I've) been able to be healthy and feeling good at the end of the year."

He's hoping that he's once again thinking about how he's feeling at the end of a season, and maybe even at the end of another run to the Cup.

"It was a busy summer for me," Reinhart said. "But I feel refreshed and ready to go."