LAS VEGAS -- Think about where Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart were not long ago, before they were traded to the Florida Panthers less than four months apart in 2021, before winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships the past two seasons.

"I got asked, 'What would my 5-year-old self think if I won two Stanley Cups?,'" Reinhart said, "and I said 'He would be less shocked than my 25-year-old self.'"

Reinhart was with the Buffalo Sabres when he turned 25 on Nov. 6, 2020. Two months before Bennett turned 25 on June 20, 2021, he was traded from the Calgary Flames to the Panthers.

The Sabres selected Reinhart No. 2 in the 2014 NHL Draft. Bennett went two picks later to the Flames.

At the times of their trades, they were each in their mid-20s, established in the NHL but trying to reach

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