NHL Trade Rumors: Los Angeles Kings Should Stay Away from Jeff Carter

The Los Angeles Kings are desperate for offense and rightly so. They rank dead-last in the NHL in scoring at just 2.14 goals per game.

But how desperate is too desperate?

According to the Edmonton Journal, there may be some trade overtures afoot between the Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets, potentially involving backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier and center Jeff Carter.

The Jackets signed Carter to an 11-year, $58 million deal this past summer but have gotten only minimal production out of him thus far—17 points in 30 games, to be exact. This, after Carter posted no fewer than 61 points in each of his previous three seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Carter's careening production could well be the result of playing out of position in Columbus. The six-year veteran flourished as a hotshot winger in Philly, but now finds himself at center, where his attempts have practically dried up.

In L.A., he'd be reunited with fellow former Flyer Mike Richards, with whom he enjoyed the prior success that ultimately earned him his monster deal.

Of course, the cost at which Carter would come, in purely monetary terms, would be far too much for the Kings to bear, especially given what they'd be getting. The Kings already have more than $50 million committed for next year and would be foolish to devote a big chunk of that to a player who, while presumably would see his production improve on the wing, would still be hard-pressed to make the expense well worth it.

And that's without any mention of Bernier. The only reason the Kings are even in the playoff discussion right now is their goaltending, with All-Star Jonathan Quick dominating most of the time in net and Bernier providing stellar relief. Without Bernier, the pressure will fall even more heavily on Quick's shoulders to play perfectly on a nightly basis.

Not that the Kings shouldn't consider dangling Bernier as trade bait whatsoever, but if they do it then they must be sure to get a player in return whose production per dollar is much more amenable than Carter's current rate.

Desperation be damned.

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