How a 35+ Goal Scorer Slipped Through the Toronto Maple Leafs Fingers

The Toronto Maple Leafs do their best to develop young talent and prepare them to one day play for the organization in the NHL.

In 2013, they drafted a player who has blossomed into a 35+ goal scorer in the league. Unfortunately, it’s not with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That player is Carter Verhaeghe.

In that 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Toronto had the 21st pick. They used it to select center Frederik Gauthier. He spent five years playing for the Leafs and played a total of ten games for two other franchises before heading to Europe to continue his on-ice career.

Two rounds later, with the 82nd overall pick, the Leafs took Verhaeghe.

Toronto Maple Leafs Draft a Good Player, For Another Team

Verhaeghe’s rise to the NHL was uncertain. When he played AAA in Hamilton, his draft year saw him collect 34 goals and 30 assists in 45 games. It earned him a second round entry (38th overall) to the OHL to skate for the Niagara Ice Dogs.

Prior to the Leafs drafting Verhaeghe, his best season in Niagara was when he recorded 44 points in 67 games. That came on 18 goals and 26 assists. Toronto knew when they called his name at the podium that he had talent and potential but it’s very unlikely that they ever thought he would develop into an NHL sniper. That was proven when the Leafs traded Verhaeghe away.

Lou Lamoriello took control of the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2015 after the team fired general manager Dave Nonis in April. By September that year, just two years after the Buds drafted Verhaeghe, Lamoriello had given up on him.

Verhaeghe was traded to the New York Islander along with goaltender Christopher Gibson (played 16 total NHL games), defensemen Tom Nilsson (played 0 NHL games) and Matthew Finn (played 0 NHL games), and forward Taylor Beck (played 92 total NHL games). In exchange, the Maple Leafs received right-winger Michael Grabner.

Grabner played just one season in Toronto where he registered nine goals and nine assists in 80 games. He then played four more years in the NHL before retiring.

Meanwhile, Verhaeghe was unable to find his footing in Long Island. He was traded once again in 2017. New York sent him to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a goaltender with three NHL games of experience over four years, Kristers Gudlevskis.

The trade was a minor league one. Both players were assigned to their respective AHL affiliates. Gudlevskis never played for the Islanders or any other NHL franchises after that trade. He ended up heading to Europe to continue his career, but things went differently for Verhaeghe.

In the 2019-20 season, Verhaeghe got his first opportunity to play in the NHL with the Lightning. He made the most of it and proved that he belonged in the league. In 52 games, the 6’2″, 181 lbs forward put together a nine goal and four assist campaign. While those numbers may not wow anyone, it was enough to keep Verhaeghe from being demoted back to the AHL or ECHL.

The following season, Verhaeghe joined the Florida Panthers and began to prove that he deserved top line minutes. He had 18 goals and 18 assists that year. He followed that up with a 24 goals and 31 assists campaign.

That brings us to this current season. Verhaeghe has been phenomenal. He’s become someone far beyond who the Toronto Maple Leafs ever thought he could be. Now, at 27-years-old with the Panthers, he has lit the lamp 36 times and added 28 helpers over 70 games.

The Leafs were right about Verhaeghe in 2013. It’s too bad that they weren’t more patient and willing to invest further in the man who leads his team in goals.