Carter Verhaeghe Lands Huge Contract After Panthers' First Win Of 2024-25

The Florida Panthers locked up another key piece long-term by signing Carter Verhaeghe to an eight-year, $7 million AAV deal.

Mentioned they were closing in during pregame tonight

8 x $7M https://t.co/EPrlE8VcXU
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 9, 2024

Verhaeghe is the seventh player signed through the 2032-33 season and is the sixth member of the Panthers to be signed through 2030, joining Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, and Gustav Forsling. Verhaeghe will be the fifth-highest paid player on the team next season.

The contract includes $48 million in signing bonus, meaning he only has a $1 million base salary per season. Verhaeghe was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, traded to the New York Islanders, cut from the AHL and ended up in the ECHL. Not soon after he found himself on the Tampa Bay Lightning winning a Stanley Cup before moving on to Florida where he really broke out.

Verhaeghe is now a two-time Stanley Cup champion and has 118 goals and 236 points in 279 games with the Panthers as well as 26 goals and 53 points in 61 playoff games in Florida.

Verhaeghe's contract includes a no-move clause from year one through year five, a 20-team no-trade clause in year six, and a 16-team no-trade clause in year seven and eight. The Panthers got a deal on this contract for the first number of years at least.