Sam Reinhart gives Florida Panthers a load of possibilities

Not long after completing the trade for Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito was asked how wide Joel Quenneville’s smile was when he started tinkering with all the lineup combinations his team could ice this coming season.

Zito, with a big smile on his own face, said his coach wasn’t the only one who is excited about the “what could be” when it comes to this group of Florida forwards.

“I got quite a few texts from members of our staff and our team,” Zito said on Saturday, a few hours after he sent a top-10 protected 2022 first round pick and goalie prospect Devon Levi to the Buffalo Sabres for Reinhart. “They are all pretty excited.”

Quenneville and the Panthers coaching staff certainly have options and the addition of a player like Reinhart gives the Panthers the ability to further mix-and-match a large number of quality of forwards.

While Sasha Barkov is Florida’s No. 1 center and Jonathan Huberdeau is the team’s top left winger (regardless of what line he plays on), Quenneville has some star power to build around.