Verhaeghe Continues to be Mr. Clutch For the Panthers
The Five Overtime Playoff Goals Among the Impressive Stats For Florida's Carter Verhaeghe
Carter Verhaeghe
Carter Verhaeghe
Florida Panthers23
28 years old (08-14-1995)
6 ft / 2 in
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
Forward
2013: 82nd Overall
Verhaeghe Has Scored Five Overtime Goals as Florida Continues to Win in OT
If the Tampa Bay Lightning could go back a few years, they would have found the room to sign forward Carter Verhaeghe to a contract after the 2019-20 season. Instead, Carter Verhaeghe’s stats of five goals and four assists in the first-round playoff series had much to do with the Lightning being eliminated in five games by the Florida Panthers.
Verhaeghe, the Player of the Week, had two goals and an assist as Florida eliminated its Atlantic Division rival Tampa Bay.
When the Stanley Cup Playoff began, Verhaeghe was priced at +3000 in the Conn Smythe Trophy race.
Only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers have more points in this year’s playoffs than Verhaeghe. Nobody has a better plus/minus rating than Verhaeghe’s +7 mark.
When looking at the NHL playoff odds, Verhaeghe and Florida have +225 odds to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second season in a row. Only the Carolina Hurricanes at +200 have better odds.
Keep on reading for more on Verhaeghe, who played in four NHL organizations before he found a home with the Florida Panthers.
Verhaeghe Delivers Yet Again
Over the last three years, Verhaeghe has scored 18 goals in the playoffs and eight of them have been game-winners.
Verhaeghe has scored the winning goal in the last two overtime NHL games played by the Panthers in the playoffs. Verhaeghe has five overtime goals in 50 career playoff games.
Only Joe Sakic with eight overtime goals in 172 playoff contests and Maurice Richard, six OT tallies in 132 games, have scored in overtime more frequently in the playoffs in NHL history.
He is tied with Patrick Kane, Corey Perry, and Glenn Anderson for third place on that list.
Verhaeghe finished tied for the series lead with five goals and nine assists. He had +700 odds to be the top goal scorer in the Panthers-Lightning series and came in at +2500 to record the most points in the series.
Florida has won its last 10 playoff overtime games with Verhaeghe scoring the winning goal in five of those games. It is no wonder that the Panthers are among the top contenders in the Stanley Cup odds.
More Than Just a Playoff Savior
There is no doubt that Verhaeghe saves his best for when the lights are the brightest. However, he has also come through during the regular season.
After having 27 goals and 22 assists in 95 regular-season games over his first two NHL seasons, Verhaeghe had 100 goals and 100 assists over the last three seasons.
When it comes to Carter Verhaeghe’s stats, Over the last two seasons, Verhaeghe is 14th in the NHL with 76 goals during the regular season. Only seven hockey players ahead of him have a better plus/minus rating better than Verhaeghe’s mark of +27.
Verhaeghe had four goals and two assists over the last seven games in the regular season as Florida edged out the Boston Bruins for the Atlantic Division title.
After playing on the road throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Florida has home-ice advantage in each of the first two series this season.
Verhaeghe Has Finally Found A Home
Verhaeghe was drafted in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. That started quite the journey for the 28-year-old from Waterdown, Ontario.
Before he played his first professional game, Verhaeghe was part of a deal that brought Michael Grabner to the Maple Leafs.
The New York Islanders sent Verhaeghe to Tampa Bay in exchange for goalie Kristers Gudļevskis. Gudļevskis appeared in just three NHL games, all with the Lightning during the 2016-17 NHL season.
Verhaeghe found his scoring touch with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch with 51 goals and 79 assists in 134 regular-season games.
That earned him some time with the Lightning during the 2019-20 season. He had nine goals and four assists in 52 games during the regular season and two assists in eight games in the playoffs as the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.
Florida signed Verhaeghe for $2 million and the rest is history. Verhaeghe, who is signed through the 2024-25 season, now earns more than $4 million per year.
Bringing It in the Postseason
Verhaeghe had points in all five games in the series with the Lightning.
When looking at Carter Verhaeghe’s stats, Florida has won 18 of the last 21 playoff games when Verhaeghe has at least one point.
With 43 points in 50 career games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, his point per game average isn’t far off the mark for former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
He is right around the same level as Frank Mahovlich and Alex Delvecchio who have made multiple top 100 NHL players of all time lists.
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