Just a few hours after raising a banner for their 2024 Stanley Cup victory, the Florida Panthers inked one of their key players to an eight-year extension. Starting in 2025-26, Carter Verhaeghe will earn $7 million against the salary cap—the Sunshine State is the 29-year-old winger’s long-term home.

Verhaeghe is a feel-good story, seeing as he was a third-round pick who was traded twice before his NHL debut in 2019-20. He had a 13-point campaign in a limited role with the Tampa Bay Lightning that season, but he really took off following his departure in free agency. The Panthers probably didn’t expect him to become an immediate star when they gave him a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $1 million, but that’s exactly what happened.

With the Panthers in 2020-21, Verhaeghe notched 36 points in 43 contests with a plus-24 rating. The team was so impressed that they extended him to a three-year deal that offseason with an AAV of $4.167 million, willing to take a high-risk gamble on a player who had a breakout campaign. Over his next three seasons, he hit the century mark in goals and assists for 200 points in 235 games. Doing so with quality possession metrics, Florida hit a grand slam with this deal.

While Verhaeghe has been a huge aid to Florida’s top six in the regular season, it’s the playoffs where he has really stood out. In his postseason career with the Panthers, he has 10 game-winning goals and 53 points in 61 games. With a goal and a primary assist in a 2-1 win versus the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, another contract extension was more than deserved. In fact, he arguably took a discount.

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In their 2024-25 campaign, the Panthers will be eyeing back-to-back championships. Seeing Verhaeghe as a pivotal player for their chances of eternal glory both in the present and the future, the Panthers gave him quite the pay raise.