Verhaeghe’ scoring struggles with Panthers this season haven’t been for lack of chances
Carter Verhaeghe, in the midst of one of the longest scoring slumps of his NHL career, knew things would have to turn back in his favor eventually.
“It can’t be worse, right?” Verhaeghe asked rhetorically.
Frankly, probably not.
Prior to scoring an empty-net goal in the Florida Panthers’ 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, the sharpshooting Verhaeghe had gone 13 consecutive games without finding the back of the net, one game shy of his longest goal drought during his five seasons with the Panthers.
But this wasn’t the only rough patch for Verhaeghe this season. He didn’t score his first goal until the ninth game of the season plus had a second eight-game scoring drought and two other stretches of six games without scoring mixed in this season.
Overall, he heads into Saturday’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres with just 18 goals in 78 games.
And it’s not for lack of chances.
Entering Saturday, Verhaeghe leads the Panthers in shots on goal (237), shot attempts (472) and scoring chances (269), is second in expected goals for (27.9) and third in high-danger chances (104).
According to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick, Verhaeghe’s 27.9 expected goals for ranks 30th in the league. However, his minus-9.9 differential between actual goals and expected goals is the second-biggest gap in the league behind only Edmonton’s Zach Hyman (27 goals compared to an NHL-best 37.83 expected goals).
“It’s hard,” Verhaeghe said, “but I think it’s honestly good because out of adversity, you always end up building something stronger than you had before. That’s kind of how I’ve been looking at it a little bit. ... That’s kind of how you find yourself and come out stronger.”
Verhaeghe knows a thing or two about adversity when it comes to his hockey career.
He toiled in the minor leagues for four seasons before eventually getting a shot in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019-20 season. He played on the fourth line for that Lightning team that wound up winning its first of two consecutive Stanley Cups.
But after the season, the Lightning let him go.
Enter the Panthers, who swooped in and signed Verhaeghe to a two-year deal with an average annual value of just $1 million.
What a bargain that turned out to be. Verhaeghe scored 18 goals and tacked on another 18 assists over 43 games in the 2021 season. Florida promptly signed him to a three-year contract extension that would begin in the 2022-23 season.
Verhaeghe only got better over each of the next three years. He combined to score 100 goals and log 200 total points over that span and transformed into one of the most clutch players in the playoffs that the NHL has seen.
He scored 10 game-winning goals in 55 playoff games, including five overtime goals — a feat only accomplished by five other players in Joe Sakic, Maurice Richard, Glenn Anderson, Patrick Kane and Corey Perry in a fraction of the amount of game the others have played. During Florida’s run to its first Stanley Cup last season, Verhaeghe led the Panthers with 11 goals, including scoring the opening goal in their Game 7 winner against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.
As Verhaeghe entered the final year of his deal this season, the Panthers rewarded him with an eight-year, $56 million contract extension that begins next season.
But things haven’t gone as smoothly for Verhaghe this year. He didn’t score in the Panthers’ first eight games — the longest run of his NHL career to begin a season without scoring a goal — despite putting up 28 shots on goal in that span.
The long spurts without goals or with minimal kept coming after that, too.
After getting four goals in six games after finally scoring his first goal on Oct. 24, Verhaeghe then went through a six-game stretch from Nov. 9-Nov. 21 with no goals on 16 shots.
He scored another five goals over 12 games before enduring a 20-game stretch from Dec. 18 to Jan. 29 in which he scored just twice despite getting 51 shots on net and have 110 total shot attempts.
And then after recording a hat trick on Feb. 2, Verhaeghe scored just two goals in his next 23 games, a stretch that including that season-high 13-game scoreless drought, despite another 68 shots on goal before finally scoring again Tuesday on an empty net.
“I’ll take it. Anything,” Verhaeghe said of the empty-net goal. “It’s always nice to find the back of the net. I’ve obviously been having a ton of chances, and it’s been tough to find it, but it’s all part of it. It’s up and downs of hockey and life.”
Despite his scoring struggles this season, the Panthers aren’t overly concerned, primarily because Verhaeghe is still putting up the shots and the effort is still there. With his skill and his track record, the Panthers trust that things will turn around.
“I am OK with the snakebit part,’’ Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We don’t need all of them to go, just a handful of them. … I have no concerns about his game and where it is at, I am more pleased with it than at any point of the year. He is ramping to it, he is getting the plays.’’
.JPG)