Only a few hours after elevating a banner for his or her 2024 Stanley Cup victory, the Florida Panthers inked one in every of their key gamers to an eight-year extension. Beginning in 2025-26, Carter Verhaeghe will earn $7 million towards the wage cap—the Sunshine State is the 29-year-old winger’s long-term house.
#FlaPanthers Carter Verhaeghe turns into the seventh #NHL participant signed by the 2032-33 season.
8 years x $7 million = $56 million
A whopping $48 million of the deal is available in signing bonus, making his base wage $1 million per season. Massive dedication from Cats.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 9, 2024
Verhaeghe is a feel-good story, seeing as he was a third-round choose who was traded twice earlier than his NHL debut in 2019-20. He had a 13-point marketing campaign in a restricted function with the Tampa Bay Lightning that season, however he actually took off following his departure in free company. The Panthers in all probability didn’t count on him to change into an instantaneous star after they gave him a two-year take care of a median annual worth (AAV) of $1 million, however that’s precisely what occurred.
With the Panthers in 2020-21, Verhaeghe notched 36 factors in 43 contests with a plus-24 score. The staff was so impressed that they prolonged him to a three-year deal that offseason with an AAV of $4.167 million, keen to take a high-risk gamble on a participant who had a breakout marketing campaign. Over his subsequent three seasons, he hit the century mark in objectives and assists for 200 factors in 235 video games. Doing so with high quality possession metrics, Florida hit a grand slam with this deal.
Whereas Verhaeghe has been an enormous support to Florida’s prime six within the common season, it’s the playoffs the place he has actually stood out. In his postseason profession with the Panthers, he has 10 game-winning objectives and 53 factors in 61 video games. With a objective and a main help in a 2-1 win versus the Edmonton Oilers in Recreation 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Last, one other contract extension was greater than deserved. In actual fact, he arguably took a reduction.
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Of their 2024-25 marketing campaign, the Panthers can be eyeing back-to-back championships. Seeing Verhaeghe as a pivotal participant for his or her possibilities of everlasting glory each within the current and the long run, the Panthers gave him fairly the pay increase.