Bennett and Verhaeghe celebrate Sam’s goal. (AP Photo/George Walker)
One of the most feared lines in hockey, the Cats second line forwards are known for their physicality and playing on the edge. Last year’s second line was a mix of multiple players, but barring another year of injuries decimating the lineup, things should return to normal. The Sam Bennett/Matthew Tkachuk pairing has been a great duo for the Cats, and with Bennett’s game growing last season, they should only be even better. The agitators could end up with yet another one on their line if HC Paul Maurice decides to add Brady to the mix and move Carter up to the top line. Scrums on the ice? Yeah, they’re probably at the scene of the crime. They thrive in playoff hockey and revel in being villains to opponents.
Sam Bennett:
Bennett came into last year off a career year, a second Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a brand new eight-year contract signed. He had another career year with more responsibility added to his plate and even showed development in his game as he was entrusted with penalty killing last year. In 76 games, he posted a career-high 58 points split between career-highs in goals (26) and assists (32). Sam’s 12.9 shooting percentage is the second-highest of his career behind the ’15-’16 season he played in Calgary. Since joining the Florida Panthers, his shooting percentage has only dipped below 10% once, which happened in the ’22-’23 season, when he only played 63 games, the fewest in a season with the Cats. On special teams, Bennett tallied 5 PPG & a career-high 9 PPA; no shorthanded points. His 5 game-winning goals are the second most of his career. Sam averaged 18:29 TOI, which was also the most of his career, while faceoffs continue not to be the strongest part of his game. He went 517-570 in the dot for a 47.6 FO%; however, that was 2nd best on the team behind Lundell. Bennett showed that he was able to step up when given extra responsibility and fill in gaps in the lineup. Sam earned a silver medal at the Olympics back in February after not being named to the initial roster; he came in as a replacement player when injuries rendered players unable to go. The longer he’s been in Florida’s system under Paul Maurice, the better Bennett’s gotten; we’ll see if he can have yet another career this season.
Matthew Tkachuk:
An off-season surgery to fix his torn adductor and hernia meant that Florida’s emotional leader only played 31 games last season. However, those games were very telling, as Tkachuk was looking like his 2023 self, the one who nearly single-handedly dragged the Cats to the Stanley Cup Final. Matthew put up 34 pts (13G, 21A), which continued his streak of being at least a point-per-game player since the ’21-’22 season. He shot at 14.8%, which was up from the 14.1% the year before and is his highest shooting percentage with the Panthers and the third-highest of his career. On special teams, Tkachuk had 4 PPG, and 9 PPA, with 1 game-winning goal for the season. His 18:18 TOI is right at his average with the Cats; the only season he averaged more than that in Florida was the ’22-’23 season, when he had his career-high 20:26 TOI. Unlike Brady, faceoffs aren’t really part of his game, and he only took a handful last season, where he went 4-8 for a 33.3 FO%. Matthew was able to get healthy for the Olympics, where he won gold alongside his brother for Team USA.
Carter Verhaeghe:
Often referred to as Captain Clutch, Carter Verhaeghe tends to go under the radar during the regular season because playoff hockey is where he really shines. Like pretty much everyone else, he missed some time due to injury but still played 77 games last season. In those games, he put up 55 pts (25G, 30A), making it his 5th straight year of scoring at least 20 goals in the regular season. He had really struggled the year before; even with hitting the 20-goal mark, he shot at a career-low 8.3%. This year he bounced back to within his norm and had a 13.4 shooting percentage, more solidly confirming that the year prior was an outlier. On special teams, Carter recorded 6 PPG and 5 PPA, nothing short-handed, and had a 17:36 TOI, staying right in the ballpark of his ice time average; he also had 4 game-winning goals. Verhaeghe fared ok in the faceoff dot, but he doesn’t carry a large load in that area; he went 39-75 for a FO% of 34.2.
Having signed his eight-year extension, it was good to see him get back to his normal, even with all the chaos happening on the team, with the injury list being a mile long. Verhaeghe’s game has consistently translated better to the more intense playoff hockey, and he’s scored some extremely important postseason goals for the team, including the first goal of Game 7 during the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. His goal felt like it set the tone for the rest of the team and helped give them the confidence to get the job done. His teammates also talk about his ‘clutch gene’ during the playoffs, something that can’t really be taught. He’s also been underrated by the Cats fanbase because he doesn’t necessarily put up insane regular-season numbers, though I don’t think anyone would complain if we got another 30-40 goal season out of him. But he’s been very steady and reliable for the Cats with a large upside when the games matter the most. He was a point-per-game player during Florida’s 2025 playoff run, where he had a career-high 23 pts in 23 games. Carter’s the only member of the top nine not selected to go to the Olympics, but that shouldn’t be held against him; it was extremely hard to make the Canadian Olympic Team.