"Not only cheaper but also probably better" - NHL analyst makes bold comparison involving $69M Panthers star and William Nylander

Sam Reinhart has been the Florida Panthers' major offensive forward for the last four seasons, similar to Maple Leafs' William Nylander. He has won two Stanley Cups with the Panthers during his 11-season NHL career. Now, it only became possible after Reinhart signed a team-friendly eight-year deal worth $69 million.

NHL analyst Dom Luszczyszyn ranked Reinhart’s contract as the fourth-best in the league. In his column for The Athletic on Monday, Luszczyszyn said Florida got a good deal.

"Fresh off a year where Reinhart scored 57 goals and finished fourth in Selke voting, the Panthers seemingly got to pretend that season never happened during contract negotiations," Luszczyszyn wrote.

"Reinhart’s $8.6 million cap hit makes a lot more sense based on what he was after his 2023-24 season, and not based on the seismic leap he took in 2024-25."

Luszczyszyn made a bold comparison between Reinhart and the likes of William Nylander and Elias Pettersson.

"Was regression likely? Yes," Luszczyszyn wrote. "But not to the degree that Reinhart ended up making $3 million less than his contemporaries such as William Nylander and Elias Pettersson."

Reinhart scored 57 goals in the 2023–24 season and 10 goals in the subsequent playoffs. His strong two-way play helped the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup in 2024. Last season, Reinhart scored 39 goals and totaled 81 points. In the playoffs, he scored 11 goals and added 12 assists in 21 games as the team won their second straight Stanley Cup.

On the other hand, last season, Nylander scored 45 goals in the regular season and six in the playoffs. Coming to Pettersson, he scored just 15 goals and 30 assists last season. Luszczyszyn went on to say that Reinhart is also probably better than Nylander and Pettersson.

"If that was the market for a 90-point forward, Florida went way under it," Luszczyszyn wrote. "Those savings probably afforded the Panthers the ability to trade for Brad Marchand — and the rest is history.

"What adds further salt to the wound is that Reinhart is not only cheaper than Nylander and Pettersson but also probably better."

Craig Berube praised William Nylander’s calm and confident playoff approach

In May, before the Maple Leafs lost Game 7 to the Panthers, Craig Berube spoke about William Nylander. Berube said Nylander doesn’t feel pressure and enjoys big moments.

"Nothing gets to him,” Berube said, via NHL.com. “He doesn't feel pressure. And I could be wrong, but this is what I see. There's no too big a stage for this guy. He thrives on this stuff, in my opinion, and he looks forward to it."

Berube said Nylander has unreal hands and great ability on his skates. His offense was spectacular, but Toronto lost to Florida in the second round.