Reilly Smith, Panthers Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The Florida Panthers announced Sunday they rewarded Reilly Smith with a five-year contract extension after his strong first season with the team in 2015-16.

TSN's Gary Lawless first broke the news of the contract. Sportsnet's Chris Johnston provided Smith's yearly salaries as part of the deal:

Smith finished with 25 goals and assists apiece this past season. He also scored four goals and assisted on four more in six postseason games. HockeyViz's Micah Blake McCurdy offered a visual representation of the 25-year-old's contributions on the ice:

Smith is the third notable Panthers player to receive a lucrative extension with the team. Aaron Ekblad signed a new eight-year deal with Florida on Friday, and the Sun Sentinel's Harvey Fialkov reported the Panthers locked up Vincent Trocheck for six more years. Florida also signed veteran goaltender James Reimer for five years.

The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds was happy to see the Panthers keep their key contributors around:

The franchise took a major step forward last year, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12 and just the second time since 1999-00.

Exiting the postseason in the first round is rarely a satisfying way to end a season, but there's plenty of reason to believe it's only the start of things to come for Florida. Smith is just beginning to enter the prime of his career, and the quartet of Ekblad, Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau were all in their age-22 seasons or younger in 2015-16.

Some might argue the Panthers are overpaying slightly for Smith. But he has finished with at least 40 points in each of the last three years, including a 51-point campaign (20 goals, 31 assists) in 2013-14. Given his age, he should continue improving.

It's probably a bit too early to start labeling the Panthers a Stanley Cup contender. Still, general manager Tom Rowe hasn't been shy about making the kinds of moves that not only help Florida in the short term but also set the team up to be a consistent playoff threat in the years to come.