Carter Verhaeghe and Panthers agree to an 8-year, $56 million contract

Carter Verhaeghe, instrumental in the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup victory last season, has signed an eight-year contract extension worth $56 million.

The deal was announced Tuesday night after the Panthers raised the championship banner and beat the Boston Bruins 6-4 in their season opener.

Verhaeghe, 29, is in the final year of his contract, which carries a salary cap hit of $4,166,667. This new deal, which begins between 2025 and 2026, has an average annual value of $7 million. Sources told ESPN that the deal also includes $48 million in guaranteed signing bonuses and trade protection.

“This guy is a Florida Panther,” said general manager and president of hockey operations Bill Zito. “We are very blessed to have him.”

Verhaeghe signed with Florida as a free agent in October 2020 after winning the Stanley Cup as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20. He scored 236 points, including 118 goals, in 278 games for the Panthers over the last four seasons.

The forward was outstanding for Florida in the postseason with 53 points in 61 playoff games. That includes 11 goals and 10 assists in 24 games during the Panthers' Stanley Cup run last season.

Verhaeghe has scored 10 game-winning playoff goals for the Panthers – including the Game 7 overtime winner in Boston during Florida's historic first-round upset of the Bruins in 2023.

“Being a Florida Panther for so long is a great honor for me,” said Verhaeghe. “To extend it even longer, I’m just so grateful to the organization.”

There were hints that a deal was imminent, the best of which came Monday night at the Panthers' championship ring ceremony. Panthers owner Vincent Viola handed out the rings one player at a time, and when it was Verhaeghe's turn, there was an additional message – a promise from the owner that he would stay with the team.

“That’s what I wanted,” Verhaeghe said. “It was cool. He said some really nice things to everyone. It was great.”

Verhaeghe didn't have a point in 17:19 minutes of ice time in the Panthers' win over Boston on Tuesday night. Sam Bennett scored two goals in the win, and he and defenseman Aaron Ekblad remain prominent Panthers prospects who could become unrestricted free agents after this season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.