[2] The Peterborough Petes claimed him with the third overall selection in the June 1976 draft, despite the fact that Reinhart and his family made it known he would refuse to play for any team other than Kitchener.
His agent, Alan Eagleson, threatened to take the team and league to court in a bid to force them to respect Reinhart's wishes.
The league had to rescind a rule prohibiting teams from trading first round draft picks to allow the deal to pass and to avoid the threat of litigation by Eagleson.
[4] On the ice, Reinhart scored a total of 104 points as a defenceman with the Rangers between 1975 and 1978 before breaking out offensively in the 1978–79 season after moving centre for the majority of the campaign.
Joining the Flames for the 1979–80 NHL season, the 19-year-old Reinhart became the youngest player to appear for the team at that point in franchise history.
[5] Transferring to Calgary along with the franchise in 1980–81, Reinhart improved to 67 points during the regular season and tied for the league lead in playoff assists with 14.
[17] Despite missing the majority of the season, Reinhart was the Flames' offensive leader in the 1984 playoffs, leading the team and finishing first amongst all players who did not reach the finals with 17 points.
[22] He scored his 100th career goal, playing at centre, while recording a hat trick in a 6–5 win over the Edmonton Oilers on November 24, 1986.
He scored 57 points in both 1988–89 and 1989–90,[1] and was named the recipient of the Babe Pratt Trophy as the Canucks' top defenceman in both seasons.
[27] Though his position for the majority of his career was in defence, his offensive ability and speed meant that his teams occasionally played him at forward.
[14] He claimed in 1982 to prefer playing forward, but realized that the organization needed him on defence to act as a quarterback for the team's offence.
Bob Johnson, his coach for the majority of his time in Calgary, said that Reinhart was the type of player that could be a "cornerstone" for a franchise.