It's time for Carter Verhaeghe to begin producing again, and last night's 8-3 win for the Florida Panthers over the Nashville Predators will hopefully do so.
The 2025-26 season has been eerily quiet for Carter Verhaeghe.
With just three goals and 13 points in 22 games, the 30-year-old is on pace for the worst season of his Florida Panthers career, projected to score just 11 goals and 48 points across all 82 games.
Everything is down for Verhaeghe. His minutes are down, his shooting percentage is the lowest it's been, and it's affecting his willingness to shoot the puck. With 49 shots in 22 games, Verhaeghe is averaging just 2.23 shots per game, the lowest rate since the 2021-22 season, when he fired 2.14 shots per game.
It's odd to see these numbers dip. With Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov out, he is now a more prominent figure in the Panthers' lineup, but now lacking confidence, he's also losing the trust of his head coach. Verhaeghe was supposed to be stapled next to Sam Reinhart, but he's been demoted and replaced by Jesper Boqvist.
His heavy shot isn't featured nearly enough on the top power play as things are now ran by Brad Marchand, and deservedly so.
It's clear the former 2013 third-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs has more to offer, but he needs to do more to show it. On Monday against the Nashville Predators, Verhaeghe gave us a glimpse of what he is still capable of doing.
He finished with a goal and two assists, a plus-4 and recorded his first multi-shot game (2) in three games, doing all of this in just 16:08 of ice time. It had been 13 games since he had last scored, and although his marker was not going to change the outcome of the game, it was one that he needed to put away to begin feeling better about his game.
The addition of A.J. Greer sparked some life into Verhaeghe and his other struggling linemate, Sam Bennett. Something coach Paul Maurice was thrilled to see.
“I thought the whole line was just really good and really dangerous without cheating the game in any way,” said Maurice. “They weren't cheating through their offense, they were working for it, and they were really fast. A.J. has been a nice compliment there, because I think you've seen Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe; they look faster. With another guy with great speed on that line, they get through the neutral zone really, really quick. They're all strong, wiry men and hard on pucks, so I’m happy that they got a reward. I thought the game the other night against Edmonton, they were really good, and they just missed on a bunch, so confidence goes a long way. They earned it tonight.”
Verhaeghe is a critical part of this team, and even more so with the several injuries they are dealing with. His production is vital, and they need him to regain the confidence he once had.
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