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Carter Verhaeghe has spent the last five seasons with the Florida Panthers, winning a Cup with them last season. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Panthers’ Carter Verhaeghe Has Been Snake-Bitten

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Joey Ganzi | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 9:55 AM ET

The Florida Panthers are fighting to get the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The defending Stanley Cup champions sit four points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the top spot. However, they made their climb tougher as they dropped a game against them on Wednesday night in regulation by a score of 3-2.

Speaking of issues with the team, the forward core has been struggling to find the back of the net as of late. One player, in particular, has been especially snake-bitten in that department. That being forward Carter Verhaeghe.

Verhaeghe Hasn’t Scored in Quite Some Time

Verhaeghe has not been the goal-scorer that earned him his extension at the start of the year. He hasn’t put the puck in the net since March 8 against the Buffalo Sabres. Additionally, since Feb. 4, he’s only lit the lamp twice. His most recent multi-goal game was Feb. 2, when he scored a hat trick against the New York Islanders.

In the 2024-25 season, he’s scored 17 goals and assisted on 30 others through 75 games played. This is shocking when you factor in his 34 goals last season with just one more game played. It hasn’t been the best season for Verhaeghe.

It’s Frustrating Because Verhaeghe’s Doing Everything Right

The funny thing is that Verhaeghe is doing almost everything right to get chances and drive the play, but the puck just doesn’t seem to go in.

In individual expected goals, he’s fourth on the team with 26.1. He’s fifth on the team in individual expected goals per 60 minutes with 1.16. He also leads the team in shot attempts with 455 and is second on the team in shots on goal with 227. Despite that, he has been put in the line blender and has switched linemates a few times this week. He just needs to pot one.

Maybe Verhaeghe Will Pick it Up Come Playoff Time

Verhaeghe’s one area where he’s done well has been in the playoffs. He’s ascended the history leaderboard for the Panthers in the postseason.

In the 2024 Playoffs, he scored 11 goals in 24 games. This includes the opening goal in Game 7 that clinched the team’s first-ever Stanley Cup. In 2023, he scored seven goals in 21 games, including a game-winning overtime goal that gave the team its first-ever Stanley Cup Final game victory. In 2022, he scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 6 of the First Round against the Washington Capitals to give the Cats their first playoff series win since 1996. Throughout his time in Florida, he’s scored 26 playoff goals and has been credited with 27 playoff assists. His goal total is the most in the Panthers’ postseason history. In addition, he leads the team all-time in playoff game-winning goals with 10. Furthermore, his 53 points rank second all-time, behind only Aleksander Barkov in playoff point total. If there’s an area he excels in, it’s hockey in April, May, and June.

Will Verhaeghe Get Out of His Funk?

It’s unknown when he will come back to form. But it needs to be done quickly, with the playoffs just around the corner. In addition, he signed a brand-new extension worth $7 million for the next eight years at the start of the season. It will not kick in until next season.

But he’s been in slumps like this before. The main focus is how he gets out of it. If it takes the playoff atmosphere or a line change, then we might see the Verhaeghe the coaching staff, players, and front office knows and loves.