The Florida Panthers started their season by splitting their first two games. In their first game, they defeated the Boston Bruins, a team they defeated in the playoffs two seasons ago, by a score of 6-4. In their second game, they dropped their first road game of the season to the Ottawa Senators by a score of 3-1. While it’s too early in the season to focus on standings, this is tied with five other teams for first in the Atlantic Division and trails the top spot in the NHL by two points.
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Shortly after their game with the Bruins, Panthers general manager Bill Zito announced during a conversation with forward Carter Verhaeghe that he had been offered an eight-year, $56 million contract worth $7 million per year. That’s certainly an unusual place to announce a new deal, but it sends a message of how close Zito is to his players. With Verhaeghe’s success with the Panthers, especially in the postseason, this deal has been a long time coming.
Verhaeghe’s time in Florida
One of Zito’s first acquisitions as general manager, Verhaghe came to the Panthers on Oct. 9, 2020, in the common area. He entered as a Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Despite playing in 52 games and eight playoff games, it was difficult for him to find a role for the Bolts as they had a roster of players like Brayden Point, Yanni Gourde, and Anthony Cirelli. At that time of year, he was brought in just four hours southeast of the Panthers for a bargain price. Little did Zito know, he was about to become a big part of the Panthers’ core.
In his first season, Verhaeghe made an immediate impact. In 43 games, he had 18 goals and 18 assists. He scored his first career goal and finished his first season as a Panther with two goals and an assist in six games. In his second season, he will prove himself as Mr. Clutch three game-winning goals in the playoffs. One of those gave the Panthers their first playoff series win since 1996.
Carter Verhaeghe spent the past four seasons with the Florida Panthers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The next season, he was a surprise in the postseason. He scored seven goals and assisted on 10 others, including the game-winning goal that sent the Bruins packing after their historic regular season.
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He touched the Stanley Cup for the second time in his career last season. He currently leads the Panthers all-time in playoff goals with 26, overtime goals with five, and game-winning goals with 10.
“Ever since I came to South Florida, I knew I wanted to be a Panther. Now that I know I’m going to be one for a long time, it’s an amazing feeling.”
– Verhaeghe on getting his new extension with the Panthers.
The next eight years will be very interesting for him and the team, and he wanted that when he arrived in Broward County, Florida.
Is another trophy in Verhaeghe’s future?
With his current deal, he, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Gustav Forsling are now locked up in Florida. The team around Verhaeghe has shown that they can stay competitive year after year and achieve the holy victory of Lord Stanley.
He could be a valuable contributor if they find a way to do it again. As much as he’s been a part of this franchise, there’s no doubt he can go on to do more.
