Jeff Carter: Why The Philadelphia Flyers Need To Re-Sign Him

Donald WoodOct 30, 2010

With talks of Jeff Carter signing an extension in the fall air, it got me wondering exactly why it would be smart to keep him in Philadelphia. A new contract would probably be as much, if not more, than what he is making annually now (about $5 million according to csnphilly.com).

Jeff Carter is a good player and plenty of teams would want him. Is it worth it to further stretch our salary cap issues by signing him to an extension?

Throughout the summer, rumors swirled about Carter's availability on the market because of the tight salary cap. As management squashed the idea of trading Carter, veteran Flyers forward Simon Gagne was moved to Tamp Bay ending the possibility of a scenery change for Jeff Carter.

There were five good reasons I thought of that made me think resigning Mr. Carter would be the best thing for the long term success of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!

5. Aggresivness On The Defensive Side Of The Puck

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Jeff Carter is not the prototypical two way forward but he isn’t a slouch either.

As much as he waits to push the play into the offensive zone, he has bought into head coach Peter Lavallette’s approach to defense first. Jeff Carter has improved his defensive abilities every year and is really turning his play around in his own zone.

He can be aggressive on the fore check and open his team up for big offensive plays or just get the puck out of the zone. He also can hit hard (as seen in the video), even if the play has already concluded.

Carter plays hard and in the Flyers system, he has become a solid two way forward in the NHL.

4. Penalty Killing Ability and Willingness

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Under the same idea of playing solid defensively, Jeff Carter has become a reliable penalty killer.

He is solid enough with his poke check abilities to keep the puck to the outside during the opposition’s penalty. Jeff Carter has the ability to intercept a pass or steal the puck and take it the length of the ice (see video).

With the loss of penalty killing machine Ian Laperriere, the team needed its other forwards to step up and start killing penalties. For a player who is so offensive minded, his ability and willingness to play the penalty kill is a good reason to resign him.

3. Faceoff Ability

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Every time you watch that goal, it harkens back to the Super Mario Lemiuex goal off the faceoff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZiCx0vfRKo

Jeff Carter has been playing several different positions this year, which shows just how versatile he can be, but still is one of the best in the faceoff circle.

Last year, Carter took 1314 faceoffs in 74 games. He won 688 of those and had the highest faceoff win percentage on the Flyers with 52.4 (players with at least 100 faceoffs).

When your team is down and they need a big win in the circle, Jeff Carter can become clutch and help put the Flyers in a better situation.

Between his position versatility and his faceoff circle prowess, he could be a key component for a championship run.

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2. Passing Capabilities

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 06: Jeff Carter #17 of the Philadelphia Flyers passes the puck against the Washington Capitals at the Wachovia Center on October 6, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

With all of his scoring talent, he will draw defenders towards him where ever he is. He is the rare breed that doesn’t panic; instead he sends a saucer pass to the open forward streaking into the offensive zone.

Because of the scoring talent on the Philadelphia Flyers, it’s no wander he doesn’t mind passing. When the team wins, it doesn’t matter who scores and the fact that a career sniper can deal with passing the puck is great.

Jeff Carter has had at least 20 assists each of the past four seasons and had a career high of 38 assists just two years ago. He is turning into a good passer and that will only help his team and force defenses play him honest.

When defenses play Carter honest, he has a chance to shoot and that could be the best thing for the Flyers going forward to the future.

1. Incredible Goal Scoring Talents

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Jeff Carter could be the best goal scorer on the Flyers. He may not have all of the assets of Claude Giroux or Mike Richards but his shot is the most dominant on the team. His slap shot is a rocket and the ability to smash the one timer on net is amazing.

The numbers don’t lie, and Carters got the numbers. He has had 29, 46, and 33 goals the last three years accordingly and finished second in the chase for the “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the most goals scored in the NHL in 2008-2009.

Carter’s wrist shot is the cream of the crop. He can wrist a shot from anywhere on the ice and make it land behind the oppositions goaltender.

Check out this sweet wrister: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0fkWdN-Z1g&NR=1

He has puck handling abilities that are shown in his shorthanded goals and his shootout goals. Carter scores even strength, on the power play, and from behind the net and any chance he gets with an open shot, he usually takes.