Revisiting the Sabres & Panthers’ Sam Reinhart Trade 

As a Panther, he’s tallied 152 power-play points; a formidable force on such a talented power play. He’s piled up 1,060 shots on goal during his tenure with the Panthers to date. He’s been a premier goal scorer since joining the Panthers, with his career high coming with a total of 57 goals in a season, good for third all-time in the franchise record books.

Sam Reinhart’s Defensive Ability

With the Panthers, Reinhart’s been a plus-30 and has accumulated 93 penalty minutes. In regular-season play, he’s averaged 19:54 of ice time per game with the Panthers. He’s been a valuable two-way force for the Panthers on their top line along with stalwart Aleksander Barkov. The two of them have been key as offensive producers but equally as proficient in helping shut down the other teams’ best forwards.

Sam Reinhart’s Playoff Production

Reinhart’s also appeared in 76 playoff games with the Panthers and produced 32 goals and 24 assists for 56 points. During that span, he was an integral piece in two Panthers Stanley Cup wins and another Stanley Cup Final appearance.

Sam Reinhart’s Awards and Accolades

Throughout his tenure with the Panthers, Reinhart has had a lot of close finishes in placements in securing potential awards and accolades. While he’s never won a major individual award, with some successful campaigns, he’s had some really memorable and remarkable seasons with the Panthers organization.

As a member of the Panthers, an organization through this era thought of primarily for its physicality, Reinhart was still able to garner votes for the Lady Byng Trophy in each of his seasons as a Panther.

During the 2023-24 season, he appeared in an All-Star Game and finished third in All-Star voting among right wingers. He also finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting, losing out to Barkov. He even ranked 12th in Hart Trophy voting for the league’s most valuable player.

Across the 2024-25 season, he finished fourth among right wingers in All-Star voting. He also finished second in Selke Trophy voting this season but, once more, lost out to his fellow Panther and linemate, Barkov.

In the 2025-26 season, when the Panthers didn’t have the same level of team success as in previous seasons, he still managed to pick up some award votes. He finished 11th in Lady Byng Trophy voting and came in 16th in Selke Trophy voting.

Sam Reinhart With Buffalo

Before being dealt to the Panthers, Reinhart played 454 games with the Sabres across parts of seven seasons. Over that stretch, he scored 134 goals and notched 161 assists for 295 points. He finished with 91 power-play points as a member of the Sabres. During his time with the Sabres, he was a tremendously important offensive player playing in the top six and appearing on the power play.

He wrapped up his tenure with a minus-97, which was in large part due to the lack of team success and wins he had while with that version of the Sabres. He also amassed 90 penalty minutes, providing somewhat of a physical presence for a team that struggled to string together wins.

As a member of the Sabres, he finished ninth in Calder Trophy voting in the 2015-16 season. He also placed 16th in Lady Byng Trophy voting in 2015-16. His time with the Sabres started his NHL journey, which garnered him attention and votes for his success as a rookie.

Devon Levi

After the Panthers selected him with the 212th pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Devon Levi developed as a top prospect at Northeastern University. Still, he never played a game in the Panthers organization at any level.

He joined the Sabres and spent portions of three seasons splitting time between the NHL and American Hockey League (AHL). He appeared in 39 NHL games and started 36 of them. He finished with 17 wins, 17 losses, and two overtime losses.

He posted a .894 save percentage (SV%) during his run with Buffalo and recorded a 3.29 goals-against average (GAA) over his Sabres tenure. He was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers this past offseason for a seventh-round pick and a third-round pick, and he’s been somewhat successful; he could capitalize and potentially become the starter for a highly successful team.

Jiri Kulich

The other piece of this trade was a first-round pick that became 28th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, which Buffalo used to take Jiri Kulich. He’s spent four seasons and counting with the Sabres, contributing as a forward up front. He’s played in 83 games and has recorded 19 goals and 13 assists for 32 points. He’s currently sitting at minus-8 in his Sabres tenure and has 22 penalty minutes to date. His Sabres stint is still going, and it remains to be seen how his productivity will grow as the team’s success continues.

This trade brought the Panthers a lot of team success and elevated Reinhart’s career into another stratosphere. The Panthers succeeded in large part because of him, and he succeeded because of the infrastructure, coaching, and players around him. As for the Sabres, they received what turned into two young players, one of whom is still contributing to the team today, while the other has been rerouted to Edmonton and has a real opportunity to shine.