A former Lightning forward is dominating the league with the Panthers this season.
A former Lightning forward is dominating the league with the Panthers this season.
It is no secret that the Tampa Bay Lightning made a mistake in letting Carter Verhaeghe leave the team as a restricted free agent in 2020. The Toronto native, of course, went on to sign with one of their biggest rivals, the Florida Panthers, and he has emerged as a legitimate star since. This season, however, he is putting together the best campaign of his career.
Verhaeghe, 28, has been on fire for the Panthers this season, posting 26 goals and 53 points in his first 53 games. If he continues to produce at this pace, he will pass his current career highs in goals (41), assists (31), and points (73). He set all of these last season in 81 games with the Panthers.
What's been impressive about Verhaeghe is that he is getting better each season that he plays. In every season since joining the Panthers, he has set new career highs in goals and points, and this trend has a real shot of continuing in 2023-24.
Sometimes, it can take a player some time to hit their full potential, and this was the case with Verhaeghe. After his lone season with the Bolts, it seemed that his ceiling was a skillful bottom-six forward. Yet, now he's a star with the Panthers, and the Lightning have to deal with him in their division. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.
In 52 games with the Lightning during his rookie season, Verhaeghe had nine goals and 13 points. Meanwhile, since joining the Panthers, he has 110 goals and 217 points in 255 games.
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