Carter Verhaeghe

Carter Verhaeghe
230px Verhaeghe with the Panthers in September 2023
Born	(1995-08-14) August 14, 1995 Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position	Forward
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL Draft	82nd overall, 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	2014–present

Carter Verhaeghe (/vərˈheɪɡiː/ ver-HAY-ghee; born August 14, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the third round, 82nd overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played for the minor league affiliates of the Maple Leafs and New York Islanders, but did not play in the NHL until being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Verhaeghe won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Lightning in 2020, after which he signed as a free agent with the Panthers. Verhaeghe won a second Stanley Cup with Florida in 2024, becoming the first player to win a Stanley Cup with both teams from the state of Florida.

Early life

Verhaeghe was born on August 14, 1995, in Waterdown, Ontario, Canada, to parents Thomas and Karen. His father introduced him to the sport of ice hockey and he credits both sets of parents for being an influence on his career. Once he began skating, Verhaeghe started playing organized hockey through the Flamborough Hockey Association before joining the Hamilton Junior Bulldogs and Halton Hurricanes. After his family briefly lived in Toronto, Verhaeghe became a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mats Sundin. Growing up, Verhaeghe and his sister Victoria played hockey, lacrosse, and soccer.

Playing career

Junior

In his high school years, Verhaeghe competed with the St. Mary Catholic Secondary School Crusaders in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic league alongside future NHLer Mark Jankowski. Together, they helped the Crusaders clinch the 2010 Hamilton Junior Cup and Verhaeghe played with the senior team in grade 10. Verhaeghe also spent the 2010–11 minor midget season with the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs of the South Central Triple-A Hockey League. Following that season, where he tallied 34 goals and 64 points through 45 games, Verhaeghe was drafted 38th overall in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection by the Niagara IceDogs.

Verhaeghe joined the IceDogs immediately following the draft and accumulated 16 points throughout the 2011–12 season. As he was playing on a strong team that finished first in the Eastern Conference, Verhaeghe saw limited playing time. He began the season with a scoring drought and he tallied his first career OHL goal in his 18th game of the season.

Following his second season with the IceDogs in 2012–13, posting 44 points in 67 games, Verhaeghe was selected in the third round, 82nd overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season with the Ice Dogs, Verhaeghe was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs on April 2, 2014. He immediately joined AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, signing an amateur tryout contract to play out the remainder of their campaign.

Matching his scoring totals from his previous season with the IceDogs, Verhaeghe scored 82 points as captain in his final season of junior in the 2014–15 season.

Professional

Toronto and New York

Prior to his first professional season, Verhaeghe was included in a multi-player trade prior to training camp by the Maple Leafs to the New York Islanders in exchange for Michael Grabner on September 18, 2015. He split the following two seasons between the Islanders affiliates' the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL and Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL.

Tampa Bay Lightning

With one year remaining on his entry-level contract, Verhaeghe was traded by the Islanders to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Kristers Gudļevskis on July 1, 2017. In the 2017–18 season with the Syracuse Crunch, Verhaeghe in his first full year in the AHL, secured a top six scoring role scoring a breakout 48 points in 58 games.

In the following 2018–19 season, Verhaeghe captured the first AHL scoring title ever by a Crunch skater, claiming the John B. Sollenberger Trophy with 82 points in 76 games. His 34 goals tied Crunch teammate Alex Barré-Boulet in league scoring to share the Willie Marshall Award. Verhaeghe holds the Crunch's single-season total point record with 82 points.

On July 5, 2019, Verhaeghe was signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Lightning. On September 30, 2019, the Lightning announced that Verhaeghe had made the team's opening night roster. On October 3, 2019, Verhaeghe appeared in his first career NHL game, which came in a 5–2 Lightning win over the visiting Florida Panthers at Amalie Arena. October 5, 2019, Verhaeghe recorded his first career NHL assist and point in a 3–4 loss to the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center. On December 7, 2019, Verhaeghe recorded his first career NHL goal and first career multi-point game in a 7–1 Lightning win over the visiting San Jose Sharks at Amalie Arena. He scored his first NHL hat trick on January 7, 2020, in a 9–2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

On August 15, 2020, Verhaeghe skated in his first career NHL playoff game. In that game Verhaeghe recorded his first career playoff assist and point. Tampa would go on to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Dallas Stars in six games, and Verhaeghe would become the second Sound Tigers player to win the Stanley Cup.

Florida Panthers

Shortly after claiming the Stanley Cup, as an impending restricted free agent with arbitration rights and due to salary cap constraints, Verhaeghe was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Lightning and was released to explore free agency. On October 9, 2020, Verhaeghe remained in Florida, agreeing to a two-year, $2 million contract with the Florida Panthers.

In the shortened 2020–21 season, Verhaeghe had a breakout year, scoring 36 points in 43 games with a plus-24 rating. He signed a three-year, $12.5 million extension with the Panthers on July 31, 2021.

During the 2022 playoffs, Verhaeghe scored a team-leading 12 points, including an overtime goal in Game 6 against the Washington Capitals to give the Panthers their first playoff series win since 1996. The following year, Verhaeghe scored the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 in their first round series against the Boston Bruins.

He would win his second Stanley Cup when the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011–12	Niagara IceDogs	OHL		62	4	12	16	10		19	1	2	3	2
2012–13	Niagara IceDogs	OHL		67	18	26	44	22		5	2	2	4	6
2013–14	Niagara IceDogs	OHL		65	28	54	82	60		6	2	2	4	6
2013–14	Toronto Marlies	AHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Niagara IceDogs	OHL		68	33	49	82	38		11	6	8	14	4
2015–16	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		30	6	9	15	6		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Missouri Mavericks	ECHL		20	8	17	25	2		10	2	9	11	2
2016–17	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		45	16	13	29	20		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Missouri Mavericks	ECHL		16	12	20	32	4		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		58	17	31	48	30		7	1	7	8	0
2018–19	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		76	34	48	82	34		4	1	5	6	2
2019–20	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		52	9	4	13	8		8	0	2	2	2
2020–21	Florida Panthers	NHL		43	18	18	36	31		6	2	1	3	2
2021–22	Florida Panthers	NHL		78	24	31	55	48		10	6	6	12	4
2022–23	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	42	31	73	46		21	7	10	17	8
2023–24	Florida Panthers	NHL		76	34	38	72	36		24	11	10	21	20
NHL totals				330	127	122	249	169		69	26	29	55	36

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	Canada	U18			7	0	4	4	4
Junior totals					7	0	4	4	4

Awards and honours

Award	Year
AHL
First All-Star Team	2019
John B. Sollenberger Trophy	2019
Willie Marshall Award	2019
NHL
Stanley Cup champion	2020, 2024

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

• 2020–21 National Hockey League Pronunciations. Retrieved October 16, 2021