Needless to say, the 2025-26 NHL season has put Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers to the test. While there is still plenty of hockey left to be played, the reigning champions are currently under duress. Hoping to spark hope into the locker room, a three-time Stanley Cup champ is back with his teammates, as Matthew Tkachuk is making encouraging progress of his own.

With the Panthers mired in a three-game losing streak, Marchand and the rest of the team are in much need for a morale and confidence injection. That may just come in the form of Carter Verhaeghe, who is back on the lineup after a one-game leave of absence.

According to Panthers reporter Jameson Olive, Verhaeghe will be back on the lineup when the Cats take on the Nashville Predators at home. Verheaghe missed Florida’s last outing as him and his wife, Casey, welcomed their firstborn, Rory. Perhaps, the new father on the team can help turn the tide for Marchand and the Panthers in what’s been a stressful NHL campaign.

Verhaeghe is back: Panthers’ updated forward lines

With the key forward back on the lineup, the Panthers now feature a lineup that looks more familiar. Verhaeghe returns to his spot on the second line’s left wing, joining Sam Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich. Rookie Jack Devine will be coming out of the lineup, making room for ‘Swaggy’. So far in the season—and his NHL career—the former seventh-round pick has appeared in six games, registering no points and a plus/minus of -3.

Carter Verhaeghe is back after welcoming his first child

The top unit will feature Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, and Sam Reinhart, as Eetu Luostarinen has yet to be cleared to play after suffering burns in a home incident involving a barbecue. The third line will feature: Jesper Boqvist, Evan Rodrigues, and A.J. Greer. Last but not least, the fourth line will include Noah Gregor, Luke Kunin, and Jack Studnicka.

Updates on Tkachuk

Still, the Panthers are a long ways from truly looking like themselves. It seems that as long as Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Eetu Luostarinen, Tomas Nosek, and Jonah Gadjovich remain sidelined, these Cats will always look a gear off. If there’s a silver lining, it’s the fact that Tkachuk is back on the ice—though it’s usually in fits and starts, not consistently.

According to several reports, his timetable for return is still set for late December. After a challenging semester, there may be nothing Marchand and company would like more than to find a fully healthy Tkachuk underneath the Christmas tree. One thing seems clear: the face of the franchise will do everything he can to be on the ice on January 2, when the Cats face off against the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park in Little Havana.

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