TAMPA — What is the statute of regret.
Can you reasonably lament the 2020 decision when you’ve spent most of the last four years hanging banners and partying?
I only ask because the Lightning could certainly use another reliable scorer among their top six forwards. They could use a player with a relatively low salary, exceptional plus/minus and a knack for scoring late in big games.
They could use a player who looks very similar … Carter Verhaeghe.
Of course, that is a convincing proposition. Verhaeghe, 28, is a former Lightning prospect who played at Syracuse with Erik Cernak, Ross Colton, Cal Foote and several other familiar names in 2018 and 2019. He played a big role in the Stanley Cup of Tampa Bay. – winning team in 2020, although its impact was diminished after the acquisition of Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow in deals in February.
At the time, his departure TAMPA — What is the statute of regret?
Can you reasonably lament the 2020 decision when you’ve spent most of the last four years hanging banners and partying?
I only ask because the Lightning could certainly use another reliable scorer among their top six forwards. They could use a player with a relatively low salary, exceptional plus/minus and a knack for scoring late in big games.
They could use a player who looks very similar … Carter Verhaeghe.
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Of course, that is a convincing proposition. Verhaeghe, 28, is a former Lightning prospect who played at Syracuse with Erik Cernak, Ross Colton, Cal Foote and several other familiar names in 2018 and 2019. He played a big role in the Stanley Cup of Tampa Bay. – winning team in 2020, although its impact was diminished after the acquisition of Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow in deals in February.
At the time, his departure It’s not even worth appearing in the newspapers. Not with the likes of Cernak, Mikhail Sergachev and Anthony Cirelli vying for a new contract. Not when Jan Rutta, Zach Bogosian, Pat Maroon and Kevin Shattenkirk are headed to free agency.
And, hell, the Lightning won another Stanley Cup the following year and won twice before scored a hat-trick. in 2022. If anyone regretted Verhaeghe’s passing at the time, they didn’t care much.
But today? Well, today it’s a different story
Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, including the winning goal in overtime on Tuesday night, when the Panthers took the lead Lightning 2-0 in the first round. NHL playoffs. In just four seasons, he became Florida’s all-time leader in playoff goals with 17, and his five overtime goals tied him for third in NHL history.
‘He’s got clutch genes,’ said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. “He was born with it, man.”
If this was just a fluke in a playoff series, it would probably be easier to dismiss it. But the truth is that Verhaeghe has become one of the most valuable forwards in the league when factoring in his production and $4.5 million salary.
As of 2020- 21, Verhaeghe has scored 101 goals at even strength and a plus/minus of 75. Only five other players can claim that (Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen), and they’ve all been in the MVP conversation at one time or another.