‘That man is an enigma:' How Verhaeghe's game elevates in playoffs for Panthers

Miami Herald

12-06-2025

Paul Maurice was never really worried about Carter Verhaeghe.
In fact, Verhaeghe wasn't even worried about Verhaeghe.
The high-flying Florida Panthers winger had a rough go during the regular season, at least when it came to his goal scoring totals. Neither coach nor player denies that.
But the looks were there. The attempts were there. The effort was there.
Eventually, when the playoffs rolled around, when the production matters the most, things would start going Verhaeghe's way. He has earned a reputation for coming up in clutch moments over the past few seasons.
And, lo and behold, he has risen to the occasion once again as the Panthers inch closer to repeating as Stanley Cup champions.
Verhaeghe's power-play goal in the first period Monday, a wicked wrist shot from the left circle, held up as the eventual game-winning goal in Florida's 6-1 rout of the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, a victory that gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 on Thursday.
The cross-ice pass from Evan Rodrigues had barely gotten onto his stick before he whizzed the shot past Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner with 2:15 left in the opening frame.
'That man is an enigma,'' Maurice said postgame with a grin. 'He scores goals exactly like that. It gets off his stick before it gets set. Coaching has nothing to do with that. He's gifted.'
And ready for the moment.
The goal was Verhaeghe's seventh of the postseason. Of those seven, three have been game-winners.
In 89 career playoff games entering Thursday, Verhaeghe has 33 goals. Of those 33, 13 — nearly 40% — are game-winners. It's the second most of any active player behind only teammate Brad Marchand, who has 15 albeit in almost twice as many postseason games played (177).
'We knew as soon as the playoffs came, he was going to be able to elevate his game,' Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said.
It's where Verhaeghe thrives. He scores in nearly any situation, from nearly any spot on the ice, but somehow has a knack for finding an extra gear in the bigger moments.
'That's the type of player he is,' Reinhart said. 'He has so much speed and he has one of the best releases in the game. And it seems the tighter everyone gets on the ice, there are times some guys get nervous. His heart rate might be 60 out there; he just skates around, going about his business and doing his thing. He is ready for playoff hockey and that's what brings out the best in him.'
Even after a regular season that could be labeled as lackluster for the 29-year-old forward.
Verhaeghe had just 20 goals in 81 games, his lowest total since only having 18 through 43 games in the shortened 2021 season. He went multiple extended stretches without finding the back of the net despite putting up his fair share of shot attempts each time.
The worst drought of them all came from Feb. 4 to April 6, a 23-game run in which Verhaeghe scored just two goals and ended with a season-high 13-game stretch despite putting 68 shots on goal. That run eventually ended when he scored on an empty net on April 8.
When asked at that time if Verhaeghe felt things would eventually turn for him, he answered rhetorically, 'It can't be worse, right?'
'It's hard,' Verhaeghe said, '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 knows a thing or two about adversity when it comes to his hockey career.
He toiled in the minor leagues for four seasons before eventually getting a shot in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019-20 season. He played on the fourth line for that Lightning team that wound up winning its first of two consecutive Stanley Cups.
But after the season, the Lightning let him go, choosing not to offer him a deal as a restricted free agent.
Enter the Panthers, who swooped in and signed Verhaeghe to a two-year deal with an average annual value of just $1 million.
What a bargain that turned out to be. Verhaeghe scored 18 goals and tacked on another 18 assists through 43 games in the 2021 season. Florida promptly signed him to a three-year contract extension that would begin in the 2022-23 season.
Verhaeghe only got better over each of the next three years. He combined to score 100 goals and log 200 total points during that span and transformed into one of the most clutch players in the playoffs that the NHL has seen. He scored 10 game-winning goals in 55 playoff games over that stretch, including five overtime goals — a feat that, at that time, was 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 games the others have played. During Florida's run to its first Stanley Cup last season, Verhaeghe led the Panthers with 11 goals, including scoring the opening goal in their Game 7 winner against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers rewarded Verhaeghe with an eight-year, $56 million contract extension that begins next season.
But things didn't gone as smoothly for Verhaeghe this season. He didn't score in the Panthers' first eight games — the longest run of his NHL career to begin a season without scoring a goal — despite putting up 28 shots on goal in that span.
The long spurts without goals or with minimal kept coming after that, too. He had six separate stretches of at least five games without scoring a goal, including that 13-game stretch toward the end of the season. All while leading Florida in shots on goal (243) and scoring chances (277).
'The regular season, we have played a lot of games over the years,' Verhaeghe said. 'Some games are tough to get your mind right, get into the fight and the battle. I think it was good for our group to really push and challenge ourselves.'
Maurice is cognizant of that. He's also aware of the way Verhaeghe operates. He needs chaos.
'He operates incredibly well on a certain frequency,' Maurice said. 'If the game was played 10 on 10, he'd score 65 goals a year. ... He needs the intensity of the traffic and energy around him to get him to a certain speed level, and then everything falls in line.'
Enter the playoffs, where every game his high-energy, every shift a critical moment. Verhaeghe has points in 12 of 20 games this postseason. He hasn't gone longer than a three-game stretch without a goal. He's scoring on 14.9% of his shots on goal — above his career average and much more in line with what to expect from him than the 8.3% shooting clip he posted in the regular season. He had the game-winner in Game 4 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the series clincher against the Carolina Hurricanes.
He's riding the high again in the postseason — just like he almost always does — and has the Panthers two wins away from hoisting another Stanley Cup.
'It feels good; I think our whole group was kind of waiting for the postseason,' Verhaeghe said. 'It adds some juice and excitement. It feels good to get the win, but the job is not done yet.'