from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

The balance for Zito and the Panthers will be to fit something in under the salary cap that will allow the team to continue to contend. It’s the challenge all the elite contenders face, making the numbers work with their core players.

Business is business, but it’s difficult to imagine Reinhart leaving a place that players around the league are tripping over themselves to get to, Vladimir Tarasenko being the latest when he gave the Ottawa Senators the Panthers as his only desired destination before waiving his full no-move clause last month ahead of the trade deadline.

The Panthers are a perennial contender, between the lifestyle in South Florida and lack of state income tax. Of course, Reinhart would have to take less than what the July 1 market could offer. That’s obvious.

“Absolutely, for sure there’s a couple of sides to it,” Reinhart said. “You know when you’re trying to make a decision there’s a lot that goes into it. This place checks a lot of boxes, that’s for sure.”...

Reinhart is playing out a three-year deal carrying a $6.5 million average annual value. What will be as important as anything for him will be term, having only done short-term deals throughout his NHL career, dating back to his Buffalo days.

He’s also 28, and obviously there’s always concern about post-30 production in the NHL. There’s also the fact he’s gone from a 30-goal scorer in his two previous seasons to such a monumental jump at age 28. His previous high was 33 goals two years ago. Included in his career-high 52-goal tally is a whopping 27 power-play goals, which easily leads the NHL.

The bottom line is that the Panthers absolutely want to keep him, but it’s an interesting extension to get done.

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