On Thursday, he spoke to the media for the first time since last season.
“It feels great,” said Verhaeghe, who led the Panthers with a career-high 42 goals in 2022-23. “It’s good to get back into practice. It’s just a lot of fun skating and being out there with the guys.”
With a new season on the horizon, here’s what Verhaeghe had to say this afternoon.
Q: What’s the feeling like in the room right now coming off a run to the Stanley Cup Final?
Verhaeghe: It was disappointing at the end there, but it was a great run last year. I think we’re kind of feeding off that energy. We know how hard it was and know we have a job to do. We know what it takes to get back to that spot. It’s just good to see everyone.
Q: What are your first impressions of playing on a line with newcomer Evan Rodrigues?
Verhaeghe: It’s been one day, but it’s good. I’ve seen him play a little bit throughout his career. I know he has a really good shot and is a good finisher. He’s a really good skater and can really fly up the ice. I’m just looking to develop more chemistry with him. I think we can definitely be good on a line together once we get some more chemistry and experience. It’s nice to have him.
Q: After scoring 40-plus goals last season, do you still have room to grow?
Verhaeghe: Yeah, 100%. There’s always room to grow. Once I stop growing, it wouldn’t be good. You want to be more consistent and bring it every night. Every day I’m coming to the rink with something new to work on. The coaches are keeping me honest, and I’m keeping myself honest. Whether it’s skating or shooting or different areas of the ice, there’s always something.
Q: Just as you have grown, so have the Panthers. What’s it been like to be part of that?
Verhaeghe: It’s really good to see the progression. Even my first year when we got here we had a really good team. We’ve just kind of built on it every year. We’ve got really hungry guys on the team that want to get better and come to the rink every day with a good attitude. We all love each other in there. That makes it more fun to battle together and get better.
Q: You’ve spent most of your time with the Panthers flanking captain Aleksander Barkov on the top line. How has your relationship with him grown over the past few seasons?
Verhaeghe: He’s one of a kind, Barky. He’s a hilarious guy. It’s fun being around him off the ice. Every day he puts a smile on your face in some way. You guys know what he can do on the ice. We’ve developed really good chemistry ever since I’ve been here. He’s an awesome player, one of the best in the world. He helps my game tremendously. I could go on and on about Barky. You see it on the ice, and off the ice it keeps on growing. I want to get to know him even more.
Q: You guys always seem to know where each other are on the ice. In terms of on-ice chemistry, is there still room to grow there as well?
Verhaeghe: I think we can grow, for sure, a little bit. We definitely have a good sense. A lot of times Barky sees me going all over the place and he kind of just covers for me and goes to the open spot. In that way, it works really well. There’s definitely parts [to improve], especially in the offensive zone. We can be better, get a better cycle going and get creative more. That’s one of the things that I think we can build on. It’ll be nice to get a couple practices under our belt.
Q: What sort of tips and tricks do you pick up from guys like Barkov?
Verhaeghe: You can learn from anyone, especially guys like Barky and Chucky (Matthew Tkachuk). He makes such good reads on the boards. He knows where everyone is on the ice at any given moment. You can see him doing shoulder checks, how he picks up pucks and making really smart plays. Barky, I mean, it’s the same kind of thing. They’re so smart, and that’s one of the things I want to pick up from them. They know where everyone is.
