Carter Verhaeghe heating up as Panthers top line dominates both ends of the ice
Verhaeghe picked up the 200th point of his NHL career during Sunday's win in Columbus
Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe turned a few heads last season when he scored 42 goals.
The 28-year-old former third round pick has seen his career flourish since he was signed as a free agent by Florida in October of 2020. It was one of the first moves made by Panthers General Manager Bill Zito after he was hired a month earlier.
At the time, Verhaeghe was a relative unknown. He had earned some time in Tampa Bay’s bottom six after leading the AHL in scoring the season before, but he had yet to be given a chance to thrive at the NHL level.
Then came the Panthers.
At Verhaeghe’s first training camp in South Florida, he found himself lining up on the wing of Florida captain Sasha Barkov.
The Toronto, Ontario native has been a key contributor in the Panthers top six ever since.
In each of his three seasons with Florida, Verhaeghe has seen his game grow and his production increase.
Whether looking at goals, points or shots on goal, each category has seen an improvement year over year, culminating in a 42-goal, 73-point campaign last season.
Currently, Verhaeghe is heating up, having scored goals in five of his past seven games. He’s got 13 tallies though his 27 games with the Panthers so far this season.
His goal on Sunday during Florida’s 5-2 win in Columbus was also the 200th point of Verhaeghe’s career.
“It's pretty cool,” Verhaeghe said of the milestone. “You don't even know if you're going to get to the NHL. It's awesome to put up 200 points. I’m just gonna keep going from here.”
Over the past few games, Verhaeghe has been back on Florida’s top line, next to Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
The trio has been electric since being reunited, both in terms of advanced metrics and overall production.
“I thought that line was just so dynamic,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said after Florida’s 5-2 win Sunday in Columbus. “They were opening things up and you thought it'd be one of those nights where they get four or five (goals).”
They actually only scored two goals, but accounted for a total of eight points against the Blue Jackets.
The line has racked up 17 points during the Panthers current three-game winning streak, though to be fair, they only played together for part of Florida's 5-4 win over Dallas on Wednesday.
“They have really good chemistry and I'm just trying to go in there and fit in,” Verhaeghe said. “I’ve played with (Barkov) for a long time so I know what he's all about, and (Reinhart) is having a great year, he's a great player. I’m just going in there, have fun and get them the puck.”
To say that all three are firing on all cylinders right now would not be that far from the truth.
Between the offensive chances they generate, and the opposing opportunities they kill, the line has been truly dominant.
With Florida facing a challenging road trip over the next week, a top line gobbling up minutes and driving play on both ends of the ice will be crucial in the team returning to South Florida feeling the journey was a success.
“When Carter plays with Sasha and Sam, when he's physical, they are a lot to handle because of his speed,” Maurice said after Tuesday’s morning skate in Seattle. “They are noticeably powerful on the ice. All three of them are playing off each other very, very well.”
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