With their bench stretched thin heading into tonight’s game against Seattle, the Panthers reached down to AHL Charlotte for some help and brought back winger Cole Reinhardt.
Florida announced the recall on Sunday as it looked to add a little breathing room to a roster that had no extra healthy bodies available.
Reinhardt, 26, spent last season bouncing between Vegas and Florida, appearing in 59 games overall after the Panthers picked him up off waivers shortly before the trade deadline. He finished that stretch with nine goals, six assists and 129 hits while averaging 10:39 of ice time per game. His most productive work came after he landed in Florida, where he scored six goals and added two assists in just 15 games.
That strong finish still didn’t earn him an opening-night job. The Panthers needed to start the season with only 21 players to stay cap-compliant, and even Reinhardt’s below-minimum AAV of $812.5K wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster. He cleared waivers during training camp and was sent to Charlotte, where he has picked up two assists in five games so far.
Florida’s shortage is tied in part to Radko Gudas, who remains day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and is hoped to be ready by Wednesday. With only seven defensemen and the minimum 12 forwards on hand, the Panthers had no spare skaters for tonight’s matchup. Reinhardt’s recall fixes that problem for now, and because the team is operating in LTIR, there’s a chance he stays beyond just this game as added insurance.
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuk Is Fueling A Panthers Surge Fans Have To See
Brady Tkachuks early-season production for the Panthers has gone from quiet to impossible to ignore. After a slow start, he has caught fire with consecutive hat tricks in back-to-back games, and his latest burst has him leading Florida with six goals in eight games while the team works through its opening-month rhythm.
One of those three-goal nights came in overtime against Vancouver, a reminder of how quickly a hot streak can change the tone around a player and a lineup. Coach Paul Maurice has brushed off the sluggish start, pointing to the adjustment period that comes with new line combinations, and the Panthers now have a top-end scorer who suddenly looks fully in sync. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Just Gave Panthers Fans A Moment Worth Arguing About
Brady Tkachuk gave the Panthers exactly the kind of jolt they needed, turning a sluggish night into a statement win with his second straight hat trick in Floridas 3-2 overtime victory over the Canucks. The Panthers had to climb out of a two-goal hole just to get to extra time, but Tkachuks night carried the tone of the comeback and helped deliver the clubs first home win of the season.
The performance also put Tkachuk in rare company, making him the third player in Panthers history to post consecutive hat tricks. It was the first time the NHL had seen back-to-back natural hat tricks since 2024, which is the sort of odd, eye-catching footnote that will keep fans talking long after the final horn, even if the bigger question in Sunrise is how sustainable this kind of offensive surge really is. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Is Giving The Panthers A Start Few Saw Coming
Brady Tkachuk has given the Panthers an early stretch of offense few around the league could have predicted, piling up natural hat tricks in consecutive games and putting himself in rare company along the way. One of those nights ended with an overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the kind of finish that can change the feel of a road trip, a homestand, or even a teams mood in a hurry.
The run also adds another layer to a Panthers story already drawing plenty of attention, because this is not just about scoring volume but the timing and the company he has kept with it. He became the first NHL player since February 2024 to score hat tricks in back-to-back games, and his name now sits beside a small list of Panthers players who have done the same, giving Florida a jolt that looks even more unusual when you remember who was setting him up in the first one. [Read more 🡒]