Penguins A to Z: What options are there with Jeff Carter?
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Jeff Carter
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Age: 38
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 219 pounds
2022-23 NHL statistics: 79 games, 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists)
Contract: In the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3.125 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason.
(Note: Carter’s contract has a no-movement clause.)
Acquired: Trade, April 12, 2021.
Last season: At the dawn of the 2022-23 season, the idea remained as sound as the day it was hatched late in the 2020-21 season.
The Penguins’ depth at center — 1-2-3 — would be unmatched by any other team in the NHL. Future Hockey Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin would be the stars of the show while Jeff Carter, as the third center, was the Penguins’ true advantage, creating mismatches few opponents could counter.
It was that way when the Penguins acquired Carter from the Los Angeles Kings at the 2021 trade deadline and that notion held true throughout the 2021-22 season. In fact, Carter’s eight goals in the past two postseasons were the second-best figure on the Penguins over that span.
And Carter seemed to live up to his end of the arrangement early in the 2022-23 season as he recorded six points (two goals, four assists) in his first seven games.
Following an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for three games in early November, Carter returned to the lineup and remained on the ice for the rest of the season. But the contributions that made Carter something of a big folk hero to fans just weren’t there in the same abundance.
Following his recovery, Carter scored only one goal in his next 14 games. And not coincidentally, Carter’s struggles mirrored the woes of the Penguins’ bottom-six forwards who largely struggled to provide meaningful or sustained contributions
Carter didn’t just fail to score goals at an appetizing pace. He began to be on the ice for far too many goals against. In terms of five-on-five play, Carter, who also was sporadically deployed as a right winger for a handful of games, was on the ice for 24 goals for and 41 against according to Natural Stat Trick.
A saving grace in a lot of ways for Carter was his acumen in the faceoff circle. As the team’s lone right-handed draw for most of the season, Carter had one of the NHL’s best success rates in faceoffs at 59.4%. Coach Mike Sullivan had so much trust in Carter in this area, he would routinely have Carter take the opening faceoff of overtime periods and immediately retreat to the bench for a line change.
After the trade deadline in early March, Carter was demoted to the fourth line and largely remained in that station for the rest of the season. In that deployment, Carter had perhaps his finest performance of the season, a two-goal effort in one of the Penguins’ best games of 2022-23, a 5-2 road win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche on March 22.
The future: Carter has another year left on his contract and there aren’t many ways to shed it.
Given his no-movement clause, he can’t be traded without his approval and Carter has given every sign that he is satisfied being a member of the Penguins. Additionally, even something rudimentary such as waivers or an assignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) can’t happen without him giving approval, and he’s certainly not going to agree to either of those maneuvers.
A potential buyout would be pointless given that Carter’s contract is a so-called “35+” deal as it was signed after he turned 35. Such contracts can be subject to buyouts, but there would be absolutely no savings under the salary cap as per league rules. This applies to potential retirement as well.
Assuming new management doesn’t do something guileful such as finding a way to land an otherwise healthy Carter on long-term injured reserve with a murky and non-specific injury diagnosis, it has to figure out how to get more out of him.
Perhaps something of a blueprint on how to best use Carter was established in the final weeks of the 2022-23 season. His play seemed to be less noticeable — in a completely positive way — once he was relegated to a less impactful role on the fourth line. Essentially, less was more for Carter.
One way or another, the Penguins are likely stuck with Carter because there are few options with him.