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It's been a difficult 2024-25 campaign for Carter Verhaeghe. The Florida Panthers forward — who has managed back-to-back 70+ point regular seasons — has contributed just 49 points in 78 games this year.
Before scoring an empty net goal in a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, the 29-year-old hadn't found the back of the net once in 13 contests. It took him nine games to score his first, and overall, he's at just 18 goals.
That's after he potted 34 last year and a career-high 42 in 2022-23.
“It’s hard,” Verhaeghe told The Miami Herald's Jordan McPherson earlier this week. “But I think it’s honestly good because out of adversity, you always end up building something stronger than you had before. That’s kind of how I’ve been looking at it a little bit. … That’s kind of how you find yourself and come out stronger.”
Verhaeghe has been a difference-maker for the Panthers in each of the last two campaigns. After strong regular seasons, he amassed 17 points in 21 Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2023, and followed it up with a team-high 11 goals and 21 points in 24 tilts last year as Florida won its inaugural championship.
The ‘Pride of Waterdown' also won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020, although he was much less impactful at that point in his career.
Panthers need Verhaeghe scoring if they hope to go back-to-back
With all of the injuries the Cats are dealing with, they're going to need Verhaeghe to turn his game on in the playoffs. He's a proven postseason performer, with 10 game-winning goals in 55 playoff contests — including five overtime goals.
That's “a feat only accomplished by five other players in Joe Sakic, Maurice Richard, Glenn Anderson, Patrick Kane and Corey Perry in a fraction of the amount of game the others have played,” per McPherson.
“I am OK with the snakebit part,’’ Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Verhaeghe's struggles. “We don’t need all of them to go, just a handful of them. … I have no concerns about his game and where it is at, I am more pleased with it than at any point of the year. He is ramping to it, he is getting the plays.’’
It's been a tough stretch for the roster without the services of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov. The Panthers have lost five of their last seven games and fallen to third place in the Atlantic Division.
Now 46-29-4 with just three games left in the regular-season, it's almost certain Florida won't win the division for a second straight year. Instead, they'll play one of the Toronto Maple Leafs or Lightning — whoever doesn't finish tops in the Atlantic.
Regardless of who they face, it'll be a challenging Round 1 series. The Panthers would love to see Verhaeghe return to his postseason form in their quest for back-to-back championships this spring.
