Sam Reinhart agrees to a $69 million, 8-year deal to stay with Cup champion Panthers, AP source says

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart missed the Florida Panthers’ championship parade. He won’t miss their attempt to defend the title next season.

Reinhart — who scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final — and the Panthers have agreed on an eight-year, $69 million contract, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team did not release the financial details, only the agreement.

“Since coming to South Florida, Sam has demonstrated his ability to be a powerful scoring threat while maintaining strong defensive play,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said. “His versatility and value as a player are only outshined by his premier personality and work ethic, and we are pleased to have him continue on with our group.”

The deal got done Sunday night, which was critical because it kept Reinhart out of unrestricted free agency and allowed Florida to give him the eight-year agreement. It also means the Panthers have forwards Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Reinhart all under contract together for the next six years.

“It’s a big head start,” Zito said of having much of the core already in place. “If I can twist your question a little bit, ‘If you are not successful in getting every piece that you want to get, is the train still moving forward?’ Before you can build, you have to sustain it. That’s the hope for sure. I think it’s the case, but we’re still trying to get it right. We’ll still never stop trying to get the right pieces and the right people.”

Reinhart — who scored a Panthers-record 67 goals this past season, including 10 in the playoffs — missed Sunday’s parade and rally celebrating the Stanley Cup title because he was attending his best friend’s wedding. He sent a video instead, telling fans he wished he could have been at the events.

“What a week it’s been,” Reinhart said. “Best week of my life.”

Indeed, it was a week like none other.

Reinhart scored Florida’s first goal of the season and, eight months later, had the last goal of the season. His score late in the second period put the Panthers ahead to stay in their 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the title series.

From there, it was a few days of celebrating with teammates, then his friend’s wedding, and now a deal that keeps him in Florida for years to come.

Also staying: defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who agreed to a four-year deal worth about $5 million.

“He has a reasonable number and I suspect he could have a better financial picture somewhere else," Zito said. "And he said: ‘I’m all in. I'm staying.' That's really nice to have a commitment from a guy like that with everything he leaves out on the ice.”

Monday also was a day for the Panthers to say farewell to some players, including fan favorite Ryan Lomberg (two years, $4 million to Calgary), defenseman Brandon Montour (seven years, $50 million to Seattle), defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (four years, $14 million to Toronto), backup goalie Anthony Stolarz (two years, $5 million to Toronto) and forward Kevin Stenlund (two years, $4 million to Utah).

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart, left, aims the puck for a goal as Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) attempts to defend during the second period of Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Monday, June 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, top, and forward Sam Reinhart (13) celebrate after winning the NHL hockey Stanley Cup as Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) looks on after Game 7 of the Final in Sunrise, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and forward Sam Reinhart (13) celebrate after winning the NHL hockey Stanley Cup as Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) looks on after Game 7 of the Final in Sunrise, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed a senior Hezbollah commander as tensions between the two sides continue to boil, a Hezbollah official told The Associated Press.

The strike near the southern coastal city of Tyre took place as global diplomatic efforts have intensified in recent weeks to prevent escalating clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military from spiraling into an all-out war that could possibly lead to a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran.

A Hezbollah statement identified the killed commander as Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who went by the name “Abu Naameh,” his nom de guerre. A Hezbollah official speaking anonymously in line with regulations, said he was head of the group's Aziz Unit, one of three regional divisions in southern Lebanon.

Nasser is the most senior official from the Iran-backed group killed since Taleb Sami Abdullah, who was killed in an airstrike June 11. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a speech honoring Abdullah said he played a pivotal role on the front line since clashes began on Oct. 8 leading the Nasr Unit.

In a video circulated by local media, residents rushed toward a charred vehicle with a large plume of smoke. Civil Defense said its first responders transported an unnamed wounded person to a hospital.

The Israeli military acknowledged the attack, saying that Nasser alongside Abdullah are “two of the most significant Hezbollah” militants in southern Lebanon. It said Nasser led attacks from southwestern Lebanon.

Hezbollah launched rockets on northern Israel a day after a Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel in October, leading to limited clashes along the tense border. The attacks have since gradually escalated, with Hezbollah introducing new weapons in their attacks and Israel striking deeper into Lebanon.

The group maintains that it will stop its attacks once there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Until then, it says it will continue with its attacks to pile pressure on Israel and the international community. Israeli officials have threatened to launch a larger military operation should Hezbollah not stop its attacks.

Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that Israel cannot expect the group's attacks to remain limited should it launch a military operation within Lebanon, even if it aims to keep the conflict below the threshold of all-out war. Allies, including thousands of Iran-backed militiamen in Iraq, have offered to join Hezbollah on the front lines.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since October have killed over 450 people, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but the dead also include more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the tense frontier have been displaced in the monthslong war.

Senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, who has been shuttling between Lebanon and Israel, is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron’s Lebanon envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Wednesday as part of his ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

French officials had invited Hochstein to the French capital to discuss the latest developments in their ongoing diplomatic scrambles, according to administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

This picture released by Hezbollah media relations office, shows a portrait of Hezbollah commander Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit his car, in the southern costal town of Tyre, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The strike took place as global diplomatic efforts have intensified in recent weeks to prevent escalating clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military from spiralling into an all-out war that could possibly lead to a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran. (Hezbollah Media Relations Office via AP)