FORT LAUDERDALE — Sam Reinhart enters his sixth season with the Florida Panthers as the favorite to lead the team in scoring for a fourth consecutive year, but a roster stacked with offensive talent could make the race the most competitive in recent franchise history, Florida Hockey Now reported.
Reinhart has paced the Panthers in scoring each season since his career-high 57-goal campaign in 2023-24. Last season, despite being shut down in March with a lingering foot issue, Reinhart’s 61 points off 29 goals still topped the club. He is expected to anchor Florida’s top power play unit alongside Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and Seth Jones — a group that could give opposing penalty kills fits.
Matthew Tkachuk, who posted 109 points with 69 assists in his first Panthers season, remains the most credible challenger. His brother Brady Tkachuk, the former Ottawa Senators captain, adds another proven scorer to the mix. Brady Tkachuk led Ottawa in scoring four times since the 2019-20 season, including a 37-goal, 74-point effort in 2023-24, and tallied 29 goals last year despite missing time to injury.
Brad Marchand, 38, provided a surprise scoring punch last season, producing 54 points in 52 games before being shut down with a hip and sports hernia issue. Carter Verhaeghe, who has hit the 20-goal mark for five straight seasons and once led all Panthers with 42 goals before following that with 34 the next year, gives Florida yet another weapon in its top six. Sam Bennett came within four points of overtaking Reinhart for the team scoring lead last season.
Barkov, returning after a year on the sidelines, has led the Panthers in both goals and points multiple times during his career, most recently posting 96 points off 35 goals in 2018-19. Jonathan Huberdeau and Matthew Tkachuk are the only other players to lead the Panthers in scoring since the 2021-22 season, underscoring how dominant Reinhart has been atop the stat sheet.
Jones could also factor into the race from the blue line, particularly if he quarterbacks the top power play unit. A third of his goals and points last season came on the man advantage in limited action due to injuries. No Panthers defenseman has ever led the team in scoring.
Florida opens training camp in Fort Lauderdale in early-to-mid September, with the preseason beginning Sept. 20 against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Panthers open the 2026-27 regular season at Carolina on Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. on ESPN before hosting the Minnesota Wild for the home opener Oct. 10 at 6 p.m.