Minor Reinhart played
minor ice hockey at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver. He started out as a defenceman, but eventually ended up as a centre. From there, he went on to play for the Vancouver Northwest Giants of the
BC Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML) alongside future NHLer
Alexander Kerfoot and future PWHLer
Kaleigh Fratkin. In his first and only full season with the Northwest Giants, Reinhart tallied up 38 goals along with 40 assists. With the Northwest Giants, Reinhart won the 2010–11 BCMML championship and finished fourth in the
2011 Telus Cup. In the Telus Cup, he received the Top Scorer and Top Forward awards. Reinhart also participated in the
2011 Canada Winter Games midway through the 2010–11 season, winning gold with the British Columbia U16 team. .
Junior The
Kootenay Ice selected Reinhart 15th overall in the 2010
WHL Bantam Draft. He was selected three rounds ahead of oldest brother Max when he was drafted in 2007 and was selected 12 positions behind of Griffin when he was drafted third-overall in 2009. Reinhart joined the Kootenay Ice for four games in the
2010–11 season. In his first WHL game, he scored the
game-winning goal against the
Edmonton Oil Kings. That was also the first WHL game in which all three Reinhart brothers were playing. Reinhart suited up for seven WHL playoffs games, registering zero points in the process, as part of the Ice's
Ed Chynoweth Cup championship team. He played one game for the Ice in the
2011 Memorial Cup. In the
2011–12, Reinhart registered 62 points, which put him behind only his brother Max in team scoring. His 28 goals tied for the Ice lead, and were the most by any 16-year-old rookie in the WHL, while his 62 points put him fourth among all WHL rookies in that category. Due to his excellent play in his first full season, Reinhart was awarded the
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the top rookie in the WHL. In his second full WHL season, Reinhart was selected to represent the WHL for one game in his hometown
Vancouver for the annual 2012
Subway Super Series against Russia; he scored the game-winning shootout goal. Reinhart scored his first
hat-trick on January 27, 2012, against the
Prince Albert Raiders. He finished his second full WHL season leading the Ice in goals (35), assists (50) and points (85). He was named into the WHL Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team. On April 2, 2013, Reinhart was named captain of the Ice for the 2013-14 WHL season. On October 9, 2013, Reinhart registered an assist in a game against the
Lethbridge Hurricanes, which tied him with
John Negrin for the Ice' franchise record for most consecutive games with an assist (8). In his second Subway Super Series, he registered one assist. Reinhart had a goal and an assist in the 2014
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game while playing as captain for Team Cherry; Team Cherry lost to Team Orr 4–3. Reinhart's father Paul was one of the assistant coaches for Team Cherry.
Professional (2014–present) Buffalo Sabres (2014–2021) After being selected second overall by the
Buffalo Sabres in the
2014 NHL entry draft, Reinhart signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team. After attending the Sabres' training camp, Reinhart made their opening night roster for the
2014–15 season. He made his NHL debut on October 9, 2014, against the
Columbus Blue Jackets, becoming the sixth-youngest player to dress for the Sabres in franchise history. Reinhart recorded his first NHL point, an assist on a goal by
Nicolas Deslauriers, on October 25 against the
San Jose Sharks. This would be his only assist over nine games with the team and he was sent back to the Ice on October 31. Upon being re-assigned to the Ice, Reinhart returned to his scoring form and set numerous franchise records. On January 21, 2015, Reinhart scored a goal against the
Saskatoon Blades for a franchise-record 287 career points. Nearly a month later, in his 238th career WHL game, he became the first player in franchise history to record 300 points. He finished the season third on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 46 assists through 47 games. He was assigned to the Sabres'
American Hockey League affiliate, the
Rochester Americans, on April 9 To ease his transition into professional hockey, Americans head coach
Chadd Cassidy used him primarily on right wing instead of his natural position of center. During the 2015 offseason, the Sabres drafted centre
Jack Eichel in the first round of the
2015 NHL entry draft and acquired centre
Ryan O'Reilly from the
Colorado Avalanche. As a result, Reinhart was no longer considered the Sabres top centre and was expected to start the
2015–16 season on the third line. While attending the Sabres' training and development camps, head coach
Dan Bylsma stated that Reinhart and Eichel gave the Sabres the best chance of winning games. He was also considered a long-shot candidate for the
Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. Following the Sabres' training and development camps, Reinhart was named to their opening night roster for the second consecutive season. Reinhart primarily played on the Sabres' third line, Reinhart scored his first career NHL goal on October 17, 2015, against the
Tampa Bay Lightning on Lightning' goaltender
Ben Bishop, and added five more by December 1. Through six games together in December, Reinhart added four goals and one assist with 19 shots on net. He also earned praise from Bylsma, who said: “his skating has improved. His puck battles have improved. His shot has improved and it's been pretty drastic in the last two months for Sam." On January 10, Reinhart recorded his first career NHL hat-trick in a 4–2 win over the
Winnipeg Jets. Reinhart subsequently became the first Sabres player to record a hat-trick since 2006 and the youngest to do so since
John Tucker in 1984. The win also ended a season-high six-game losing streak for the Sabres, who were 16–22–4 on the season. At the start of February, Reinhart missed three games with a concussion but scored the Sabres' lone goal in his return as they fell to the
Boston Bruins. In the final 18 games of the season, Reinhart left O'Rielly's line and joined Eichel as the Sabres' top unit. After recording a goal and an assist in a win over the
Ottawa Senators on March 18, he and Jack Eichel became the first pair of Sabres rookies with 20-goal seasons since 1975. Over the final 18 games of the season, Reinhart and Eichel combined for 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points. He also received two votes for the Calder Trophy and 10 votes for the
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and the NHL's most gentlemanly player. During the 2016 offseason, Reinhart worked with his long-time skating coach Barb Aidelbaum on his skating acceleration and playmaking skills to improve for his sophomore season. After Eichel suffered a lower body injury during the preseason, Reinhart began the
2016–17 season on the wing of
Ryan O'Reilly and
Kyle Okposo. After four games with the two, Reinhart was transitioned to his natural position of centre between
Tyler Ennis and
Zemgus Girgensons. During his first month in this position, Reinhart experienced a seven-game pointless drought that was snapped with two assists in a game against the
Calgary Flames on November 21. However, he continued to experiences bouts of pointlessness and was eventually transitioned back to right wing on a line with O'Rielly and
William Carrier. When O'Rielly missed time in December due to an appendectomy, Reinhart was transitioned back to a centre position temporarily. While continuing to alternate between centre and winger, Reinhart maintained a team-high 15 primary assists through early January. He missed two games due to an illness but returned to the Sabres' lineup following their
bye-week in late February. Reinhart finished the season with a new-career high 47 points as the Sabres again failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Reinhart began his third full season with the Sabres and fourth season with the team and in the NHL altogether as a centreman but was reunited with Eichel and Kane on their wing after a slow start. Through his first 17 games of the season, Reinhart had accumulated two goals and three assists while the team maintained a losing 5–9–3 record. This reunion was shortlived as head coach
Phil Housley continued to shuffle the forward lines in an effort to create more offense. As Reinhart continued to struggle offensively through the first half of the season, scoring only 11 points in 34 games, Housley tried him back on Eichel's wing again in late December. In the final 38 games of the season, Reinhart accumulated 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points. On April 1, 2018, Reinhart scored his second career NHL hat-trick in a 7–4 win over the
Nashville Predators. The hat-trick helped Reinhart finished the regular season with career-highs in games played, goals, points, power-play goals, and power-play points. during a game against the
Vancouver Canucks in November 2025. On September 19, 2018, Reinhart signed a two-year, $7.3 million contract extension to remain with the Sabres.
Florida Panthers (2021–present) On July 24, 2021, Reinhart was traded by the Sabres to the
Florida Panthers in exchange for
Devon Levi and a
2022 first-round pick (
Jiří Kulich). On August 11, Reinhart signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Panthers. On June 24, 2024, in game 7 of the
2024 Stanley Cup Final, Reinhart scored the most important goal in franchise history, a decisive goal that put the Panthers ahead 2–1, leading to Florida's first
Stanley Cup title. On July 1, Reinhart signed an eight-year, $69 million contract extension that keeps him with the Panthers through the 2031–32 season. The
2024–25 season, he scored 39 goals, the most of any Panther, and led the team in points with 81 in 79 games. He was named a finalist for the
Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded to the league's best defensive forward. During the
2025 playoffs, Reinhart helped the Panthers repeat as
Stanley Cup champions, as they once again defeated the
Edmonton Oilers in the
Stanley Cup Final. In the Cup-clinching game 6, Reinhart had a memorable game, scoring four goals in the 5–1 Panthers' victory, though
Matthew Tkachuk, who scored the only goal for the Panthers other than Reinhart's four, got the Cup-winning goal. This was the first time any NHL player scored four goals in a single Stanley Cup Final series game since
Maurice Richard did so in game 1 of the
1957 Stanley Cup Final. ==International play==