Carter Verhaeghe: ‘I Want to Stay’ with the Florida Panthers

WESTON — Carter Verhaeghe saw firsthand what Florida Panthers teammate Sam Reinhart did in his contract year last season.

“I hope it has the same effect on me,’’ Verhaeghe said with a smile.

As was the case with Reinhart, Verhaeghe comes into this season in the final year of his contract.

If he and the Panthers do not come to an agreement, Verhaeghe could become an NHL free agent.

Reinhart, for those who may not recall, scored a career-high 57 goals before adding 10 more in Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup championship.

A day before free agency, he signed an eight-year contract with the Panthers worth $69 million.

Verhaeghe enters the final year of the three-year extension worth $12.5 million he signed with the Panthers in 2021.

“I want to stay,’’ Verhaeghe told Florida Hockey Now on Monday afternoon. “It’s kind of a different situation for me; I have never been in this situation before. Obviously, my priority is to stay. I love playing for the Florida Panthers. That’s pretty much it.

“Things are good. I would feel weird putting on any other jersey than that of the Florida Panthers. I have been here for four years now, and this feels like my home. I love playing here. It is definitely hard to find something that matches this.’’

Verhaeghe, obviously, has worn a different jersey than the Panthers over the years.

After being drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Verhaeghe bounced around before landing with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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In 2020, he won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay but was not offered a qualifying contract making him a free agent.

Florida quickly jumped on Verhaeghe with a two-year offer — and then extended him with this current three-year contract after that first season in which he scored 18 goals with 36 points in 43 games.

Verhaeghe has only gotten better over the years with the Panthers and could be in the market for a contract which looks much like the one Reinhart got.

Two years ago, he scored 42 goals; last season, he ended with 34.

Verhaeghe is also Florida’s all-time leader not only with 26 playoff goals, but with 10 game-winning goals as well.

This past summer, Verhaeghe scored 10 goals with 21 points in 24 playoff games — scoring the first goal in Game 7 against the Oilers and assisting on Reinhart’s game-winner midway through the second.

“It was our goal to grow with this group of guys,’’ Verhaeghe said, “and it was four years in the making for me. It was awesome to finally get it done, for the fans and for all of us. It was a lot of fun.’’

The Panthers open training camp on Thursday morning with a bit of a different look.

Due to salary cap concerns that each team in the NHL has to deal with, the Panthers were unable to keep everyone.

Although Reinhart and Dmitry Kulikov got new contracts, players such as Brandon Montour, Ryan Lomberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz moved on.

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“We had some guys who left, and, good for them,’’ Verhaeghe said. “They got a lot of money. But we have a lot of the same group coming back, and that feels really good. We are really confident in our group.

“We all got it done last year, and I think we’re going to be a really good team again. Obviously there are going to be some differences with our group this year, but we have really good leadership. We’re going to focus on that.’’

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UP NEXT FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

• NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
• Florida Panthers Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale: Starts Thursday
• Florida Panthers Preseason: Sept. 22-Oct. 5
• Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Oct. 8 vs. Bruins (ESPN)