Jeff Carter

For other uses, see Jeff Carter (disambiguation).

Jeff Carter
Born	January 1, 1985 (1985-01-01) London, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Los Angeles Kings Philadelphia Flyers Columbus Blue Jackets
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	11th overall, 2003 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	2004–present

Jeff Carter (born January 1, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his NHL career, he has appeared in one All-Star Game (2009) and led the Philadelphia Flyers, one of his previous teams, in scoring on one occasion, in 2009.

Carter played junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for four seasons, earning OHL First Team All-Star, William Hanley Trophy and CHL Sportsman of the Year honours in his final year. Joining the Flyers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, immediately after his junior career, he helped the team win the Calder Cup in 2005.

Internationally, Carter has won gold medals with Team Canada at the under-18 and under-20 levels. During his under-20 career, he tied as Canada's all-time leading scorer at the World Juniors and was named to back-to-back Tournament All-Star Teams. He has also represented Canada at the 2006 IIHF World Championship.

Playing career

Carter played minor hockey in London, Ontario with the London Jr. Knights rep program. He played bantam hockey with the AAA Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) before spending a season with the Strathroy Rockets, a Junior B team, at age .

Carter was selected in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 2001 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He began his OHL career in 2001–02, recording 35 points over 63 games as a rookie. The following season, he improved to 71 points. In the off-season, the Philadelphia Flyers selected him 11th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Returning to the Greyhounds following his draft, he earned Second Team OHL All-Star honours in 2003–04 with a 66-point campaign. Following his third OHL season, he was assigned by the Flyers to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms for their 2005 Calder Cup playoff season. He recorded 5 points over 12 games in his initial stint at the professional level. Back in the OHL for his final junior season in 2004–05, he recorded a major junior career-high 74 points (34 goals and 40 assists) in 55 games. He was a First Team OHL All-Star that season and won the OHL and CHL Sportsman of the Year Awards. After the Greyhounds were eliminated from the 2005 OHL playoffs, Carter joined the Phantoms once more and recorded 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 21 playoff games, helping the team win the Calder Cup.

The next season, in 2005–06, Carter made the Flyers out of training camp. He was joined by fellow rookies Mike Richards and R. J. Umberger, who were both also instrumental in the Phantoms' Calder Cup championship of the previous season. He scored his first career NHL goal on October 24, 2005, against Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers. He finished the campaign first in team-scoring among rookies with 23 goals and 42 points.

Carter playing for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2006–07 season.

After 37- and 53-point efforts, in his second and third NHL seasons, Carter and the Flyers agreed to a 3-year, $15-million contract extension, on June 27, 2008, days before he was set to become a restricted free agent. He responded with a breakout campaign in 2008–09, leading the team in scoring with 46 goals and 84 points. During the season, he was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, representing the Eastern Conference. Despite a strong regular season, Carter was held to just 1 goal in 6 playoff games as the Flyers were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. His series was also marred when he failed to score with an open net in front of him in Game 2 of the series, where Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a toe save to block the shot that would have given the Flyers a 3-1 lead late in the third period. Carter was later called off for a hooking penalty and the Penguins scored to tie the game and eventually win in overtime. It was later revealed that Carter had played the final four games of the series with a separated shoulder.

On November 13, 2010, Carter signed an 11-year, $58 Million contract extension with the Flyers through to the 2021–2022 season. The deal features a full no-trade clause from 2012–15, followed by a limited no-trade clause thereafter.

On June 23, 2011, the Flyers traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Voracek, a 2011 first round pick and a 2011 third round pick.

Carter has a history of sustaining foot and knee injuries that have kept him out of the lineup at arguably crucial stretches. This includes the 2009-10 playoffs, when the Flyers went to the Cup Finals, the 2010-11 playoffs, and a few weeks near the start of the 2011-12 season with his new team, the Blue Jackets, who subsequently got off to the worst start of any team in the last nineteen years of NHL history.

On February 23, 2012, Carter was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jack Johnson and a conditional first round pick, reuniting him with former Philadelphia Flyer and close friend Mike Richards, as well as former Flyer Simon Gagne.

International play

Medal record
Jeff Carter
Competitor for Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold	2005 United States
Silver	2004 Finland
IIHF World U18 Championships
Gold	2003 Russia

Carter debuted internationally with Team Canada at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships. He scored 6 points in 7 games, helping Canada to their first gold medal at the tournament.

The following year, Carter moved on to the Canadian national under-20 team, playing in back-to-back World Junior Championships. Winning silver in 2004 and gold in 2005, he was named to the tournament's All-Star Team in both instances. His combined 12 goals over both years tied him with Eric Lindros (later also tied by John Tavares) for Canada's all-time record at the World Juniors. Lindros had played in three tournaments between 1990 and 1992 (one more than both Carter and Tavares). Carter had been joined on the World Junior squads by two future Flyers teammates, Mike Richards and Braydon Coburn.

Following his rookie NHL season, Carter played for the Canadian men's team at the 2006 World Championships. He recorded six points in nine games as Canada failed to qualify for a medal.

Personal life

Carter owns a home in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, that he returns to in the off-seasons.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Strathroy Rockets	GOHL		49	27	20	47	10		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		63	18	17	35	12		4	0	0	0	2
2002–03	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		61	35	36	71	55		4	0	2	2	2
2003–04	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		57	36	30	66	26		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		12	4	1	5	0
2004–05	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		55	34	40	74	40		7	5	5	10	6
2004–05	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		3	0	1	1	4		21	12	11	23	12
2005–06	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		81	23	19	42	40		6	0	0	0	10
2006–07	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		62	14	23	37	48		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		82	29	24	53	55		17	6	5	11	12
2008–09	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		82	46	38	84	68		6	1	0	1	8
2009–10	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		74	33	28	61	38		12	5	2	7	2
2010–11	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	36	30	66	39		6	1	1	2	2
NHL totals				461	181	162	343	288		47	13	8	21	34

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2003	Canada	WJ18		7	2	4	6	2
2004	Canada	WJC		6	5	2	7	2
2005	Canada	WJC		6	7	3	10	6
2006	Canada	WC		9	4	2	6	2
Junior int'l totals				19	14	9	23	10
Senior int'l totals				9	4	2	6	2

Awards

Major junior

• Named to the OHL Second All-Star Team in 2004.
• Named to the OHL First All-Star Team in 2005.
• Won the William Hanley Trophy (OHL Sportsman of the Year) in 2005.
• Won the CHL Sportsman of the Year in 2005.

Professional

• Won the Calder Cup with the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2005.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2009.

International

• Named to the World Junior All-Star Team in 2004 and 2005.
• Won a World Junior gold medal with Team Canada in 2005.

External links

• Jeff Carter's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Jeff Carter at Hockey-Reference.com
• Jeff Carter's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Jeff Carter's NHL player profile
• Sports Illustrated
• Yahoo Sports

Achievements
Preceded by Joni Pitkanen	Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick 2003	Succeeded by Mike Richards