The Florida Panthers are riding high following their 2024 Stanley Cup championship. Heading into the new season, the roster has changed, but the core remains in place and ready to defend their title.
A huge part of the Panthers' offseason was negotiating a new contract with scoring winger Sam Reinhart. Coming off of a 57-goal season and a fantastic postseason, Reinhart was in line for an expensive extension. It took some time, but the Panthers and Reinhart agreed to a new, eight-year contract to keep him in Florida for the forseeable future.
Armed with a new contract, the Panthers expect Reinhart to continue producing at a high rate. For others, the expectation is that Reinhart will regress fresh off of signing his new contract.
ESPN recently published their fantasy hockey rankings and outlooks for the 2025 season. While Reinhart's teammate Matthew Tkachuk received a huge projection for the upcoming campaign, Reinhart's outlook is less optimistic. According to their projections, Reinhart is set to take a step back in 2025, specifically in the goal-scoring department. Ranked as the 24th player in the NHL, ESPN They wrote about why they see him as a regression candidate.
"Buoyed by a completely unsustainable 24.5 shooting percentage -- well above his previous career-best mark of 19.2 percent -- Reinhart scored 57 goals (and 94 points) in 82 games last season," they wrote. "The number placed him second in the NHL behind only Toronto's Auston Matthews. With no choice but to pay up following his career year and a Stanley Cup championship, Florida inked Reinhart to an eight-year, $69 million deal following the season. Reinhart is an excellent player on one of the NHL's best teams, but perhaps no player in the league is at greater risk of burning fantasy managers this coming fall. Don't overpay on draft day."
ESPN's outlook on Reinhart is incredibly pessimistic, but painfully realistic. He's been in the NHL full-time since the 2015-2016 season. Over nearly a decade in the league, he's recorded five 20 to 25-goal seasons, two 30+ goal seasons, and one season with more than 40 goals. There's no doubting that Reinhart is one of the better and more consistent scorers in the league, but there's no evidence to suggest he's more than a 30 goal scorer at this stage of his career.
Nonetheless, he remains an important piece for the Panthers. Set to turn 29 during the upcoming season, Reinhart aims to prove ESPN and his doubters wrong and post another 50-goal season.
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Less than 10 years ago, at the end of the 2016-17 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins were sitting on top of the hockey world with their fifth Stanley Cup title. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the Penguins appear to be far from contending for a title given the lack of overall progression since the offseason. The Penguins finished last season ranked seventh in the Metropolitan Division, only ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. After several seasons of deciding whether to rebuild or go all-in, it is now too nearly too late for the Penguins to rebuild into an immediate playoff contender, as they could be looking at becoming one of the worst teams in the league. Pittsburgh knew it was adding a lot of aged veterans to the roster via free agency or trade within the past few seasons. Now, the Penguins have a conditioning problem. Eight of the team's top scorers from last year are returning, but seven of them were at least 31 years old. Forward Michael Bunting (29), forward Anthony Beauvillier (28), defender Marcus Pettersson (29), center Drew O’Connor (27) and center Cody Glass (26) were some of the more active younger players. They are now going into the 2025-2026 season with different teams. A portion of the starting unit or key reserves, like forward Rickard Rakell, forward Bryan Rust and defenseman Erik Karlsson, are likely to be traded, even if they are traded a season too late. The problem with keeping an aging locker room and veterans is that they take up roster spots and salary-cap space. The Penguins lost a good portion of their young core players to free agency. Among the most active young players last season was 24-year-old center Philip Tomasino. In 50 games for the Penguins last season, he accounted for 11 goals and 12 assists. There is also 27-year-old Blake Lizotte, who accounted for 11 goals and nine assists in 59 games played. The remainder of the offseason will need to be used for the Penguins to develop their young stars like Tomasino and Lizotte and any more of their prospects. While the aged roster was a huge part of the Penguins’ last-season downfall, the big reason was Pittsburgh's defensive liability. The Penguins allowed an average of 3.5 goals per game, tied for 29th out of the 32 teams in the league. A lot of that can be placed on the pacing and speed of the roster that allows them to get beaten in fast transitions. Defensemen like Matt Grzelcyk and Pettersson have been serviceable at times, but longtime star and 37-year-old Kris Letang has shown his age. The goaltending situation is shaky, too. Veteran Tristan Jarry easily had his worst season for the Penguins since the 2018-2019 season. Alex Nedeljkovic finished with a better save percentage, but only by .001 at .894. Nedeljkovic is now with the San Jose Sharks after a trade for a 2028 NHL Draft third-round pick. The Penguins also didn’t improve their team by trading for Vancouver Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs, who has played 19 games in the last three seasons. Although Mathew Dumba and Clinton Clifton are good defensemen additions, they don’t move the needle. With a poorly balanced roster and subpar defense, it's more likely than not the Penguins will remain a non-contender through at least the 2025-26 season.
With the 53-man roster decided, the Las Vegas Raiders can now turn their attention to waivers and setting up their initial practice squad. According to Silver Black Pride’s Tristen Kuhn, the Raiders did make a waiver claim, bringing in former Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Brennan Jackson. The Raiders have yet to make a corresponding roster move. Meanwhile, the Raiders are setting up their initial 16-man practice squad. Should offensive lineman Laki Tasi not be claimed, however, he can be added without counting against the upper limit due to his status in the NFL International Player Pathway. Here are the confirmed members of the Raiders’ practice squad. WR Alex Bachman RB Chris Collier S Terrell Edmunds DE Jahfari Harvey WR Shedrick Jackson LB Matt Jones DT Treven Ma’ae G Atonio Mafi QB Cam Miller TE Albert Okwuegbunam TE Carter Runyon WR Justin Shorter OL Laki Tasi (IPP) S Trey Taylor CB Greedy Vance OT Dalton Wagner S/CB JT Woods
The Cincinnati Reds claimed infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade off waivers in the middle of June. Since being with the Reds organization, Vilade has thrived in Triple-A Louisville. In 43 games with Triple-A Louisville, Vilade is slashing .293/.390/.587 with 22 extra-base hits in 43 games. He is also walking over 10% of the time. Vilade has played all over the field for Triple-A Louisville. It wouldn't be surprising to see Vilade with the Reds once the rosters expand in September. The 26-year-old was a former second-round pick by the Rockies and their fourth-ranked prospect in 2020. Vilade has appeared in just 28 games in the majors, going 9-71 with five walks and 18 strikeouts over three seasons with Colorado, Detroit, and St. Louis. Regardless of whether Vilade ever plays a big part for the Reds, he was a great waiver pick-up and someone worth taking a shot on.
Waived by the New York Jets after one season, Malachi Corley went unclaimed Wednesday. But the 2024 third-round pick will land elsewhere, joining the Browns (per veteran reporter Jordan Schultz). This practice squad agreement comes about after Corley had multiple suitors to choose from, per Schultz. He will head to Cleveland in the hopes of rebuilding his value following a poor rookie campaign. The Jets’ new regime elected to move on despite depth questions at the WR position. Corley managed just three scoreless receptions last year. The Western Kentucky product was seen as a project given his skillset, but his efforts to develop into an NFL regular will take place in a new home. It will be interesting to see if Corley finds himself amongst the Browns’ early taxi squad elevations or makes his way onto the active roster in September. Cleveland’s receiver room will once again be led by Jerry Jeudy in 2025. The former Broncos first-rounder set a new career high in catches (90) and yards (1,229) during his first Browns campaign, and he will be relied on to duplicate that production as the team sorts out its quarterback situation over the course of the year. The likes of Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash and undrafted rookie Isaiah Bond are also in place on the depth chart. Corley will be joined on the Browns’ taxi squad by guard Cole Strange. The latter was waived by the Patriots Tuesday, marking an unceremonious end to his time in New England. Strange is heading to Cleveland with the expectation of also being elevated to the active roster at some point, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. A backup gig along the interior could be in store by the fall. Strange’s entry to the NFL was marked by his surprising status as a first-round pick. The Chattanooga product was hampered by injuries, and he was limited to 13 appearances across the past two seasons. When on the field, Strange was part of a Pats O-line which struggled mightily in 2024. With plenty of changes taking place up front under head coach Mike Vrabel, he found himself amongst the team’s roster cuts. Now, Strange will join Corley in seeking to take advantage of a change of scenery. At the ages of 27 and 23, respectively, both players could wind up offering upside to the Browns’ offense in time. Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
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