Carter Verhaeghe Signs Eight-Year Extension With Panthers

Carter Verhaeghe Signs Eight-Year Extension With Panthers

Carter Verhaeghe is finally locked in with the Florida Panthers after an excellent postseason.

As if there was not enough good news in Sunrise, there is another key piece to the puzzle staying for the long haul. Shortly after their 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins on opening night, news broke of the eight-term extension. Elliotte Friedman confirmed that it is a complete bargain for the former 40-goal scorer:

Mentioned they were closing in during pregame tonight

8 x $7M https://t.co/EPrlE8VcXU

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 9, 2024

Having just turned 29, this deal will more than likely age just fine for a guy who will put up points for a long time in South Florida. Critics will be quick to point out the state tax advantage at play with this AAV. However, there’s nothing you can do. We saw the same thing happen with Sam Reinhart‘s mega-deal this summer after a career year.

You can’t really do anything besides tip your cap to Bill Zito and how he’s built this team. Not only are they arguably the favorites to make it out of the East again. They will also have this window to be in the mix for the Stanley Cup for at least the next five years. It’s team-friendly deals like this that will keep this cycle going for as long as this core keeps performing.

Well Deserved And Long Overdue

Over the last two seasons, Verhaeghe scored 76 goals and 145 points as a staple in the top-6. He fits in just as well on the first line with Sasha Barkov as he does with Matthew Tkachuk on the second line.

Furthermore, the guy is a playoff warrior. “Swaggy” put up 21 points in 24 playoff games last year after 17 in 21 the year prior. It’s a really nice story for a guy who bounced around the league early on in his career. After emerging as a contributor for Tampa in their 2020 Bubble Cup, he opted to stay in Florida with their bitter rivals.

That decision turned out to be a very smart one. Now he added both another ring to his fingers plus a new handsome payday.

With the cap ceiling set to continue rising, the Cats have no reason not to go all-in every year. Especially when you consider Sergei Bobrovsky‘s massive contract is off the books in 2026 even more flexibility is feasibly within sight.

For now, Paul Maurice and his men can set their sights on repeating while Zito and the front office keeps running the show. They have done well to inject some quality young talent to compete with their stars as they age. As well, buyout candidates and fringe free agents will always be more inclined to take deals and play here.

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Another Florida Panthers mainstay is here to stay. Carter Verhaeghe put pen to paper after months of assumptions that he would do just that.

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