Columbus Blue Jackets: Jeff Carter Finally Speaks After Four Days of Silence

As the NHL Entry Draft came and gone, there was a lot of talk around the NHL about the two blockbuster trades that were completed by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Former captain Mike Richards was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and center Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

As much as everyone else talked of the deal, Jeff Carter had yet to make any statement to the public or even his new general manager Scott Howson and remained silent throughout the weekend's events.

On Monday, Howson decided that if Carter wasn't going to come to him, then he would go to him, flying to New Jersey where Carter resides and have a face-to-face conversation with his new star.

Head coach Scott Arniel and captain Rick Nash joined him on the trip.

They met with the 26-year-old at his residence and had a 90-minute meeting, according to the Columbus Dispatch's Aaron Portzline.

After their meeting, the newest Blue Jacket was ready to talk about what had transpired last week.

"It's been a tough couple of days," he said. "I spent six years in Philadelphia. I think so highly of the organization. It was a real shot to me."

Many had believed that the reason Carter had been so silent the past four days was because he had been traded from a Stanley Cup contender in the Flyers to a team who has only made the playoffs once in their ten year franchise history.

However, Carter was quick to deny those statements:

"My decision to not talk had absolutely nothing to do with being traded to Columbus. I know it's a team that has struggled in the past, but there's a great future there, a lot of young players. I'm excited to be there."

Carter would go on to say that he was excited to see Howson, Arniel and Nash come and visit him because it showed that the they were excited to have him as part of the Blue Jackets.

From their conversation, Carter seems ready to start a new chapter in his career with Columbus:

"Just sitting down and talking with them, it got me real excited, and wishing the season would start a little earlier."

According to Yahoo Sports, Carter is especially excited to play alongside Jackets captain Rick Nash, who has needed the assistance of a top line center as long as he's played in the league.

"Anytime you can get a chance to play with Rick, it puts a smile on your face,” Carter said.

“I’m excited to get out there and see what we can do together. A lot of people have been keying on him, and it’s not easy to do things by yourself. I’m looking forward to helping him out, and helping the team out.”

One of the great things noticed in the media call is that Jeff Carter was not referring to the Blue Jackets as "they" or "them,"

“You look at the lineup now, we’ve got a lot of young players that are going to be really good,” Carter said. “It’s still a work in progress, but I think we can be pretty good.”

Carter went on to say that if "we" could add a few pieces to the puzzle, then the Blue Jackets could be a contender in the playoffs.

Having Carter finally speak and show excitement about the team, as well as the city of Columbus, should prove to be a help with luring those missing pieces come July 1 at the start of free agency.