Get Carter

Until the Flyers make a move for a goalie, trade talk will swirl around Jeff Carter.  Trading Richards is not off the table, but Carter remains the more likely candidate.

Rumors have already started.  Toronto have always liked him, the Flyers could trade him for a package including Bryzgalov's rights in the Phoenix, and many other teams looking for a solid 1/2 center will be interested (LA? Dallas?).  The rumored asking price is a roster player, top prospect, and picks.  Keep in mind the point of trading Carter would be to open up cap space to fill other needs, so it doesn't make sense to get an expensive player back unless it's a goalie.

Carter is a natural trade candidate.  He is signed to a long term with a reasonable cap hit, and viewed in a 3 year window, he is one the top handful of goal scorers in the NHL.  He has an explosive wrist shot, decent size, is responsible defensively, and has the speed to separate from the defense.  All things that will keep teams perennially interested in a trade.

So what's not to like about him?
--For starters, it is my opinion that his wrist shot is very overrated.  His shot is inaccurate, and maybe more importantly his release is slow.  In his first few seasons Flyers fans referred to him as "high-and-wide" because that's where so many of his shots ended up.  You still rarely see him pick a corner, as most of goals come from simply overpowering the goalie.

--Second, he doesn't use his size consistently to hit or protect the puck.

--Third, he is a very poor passer of the puck, and as a result does not utilize his teammates.  His shot is heavy, but so is his pass.

--Fourth, and more elusively, for all his goals, he's not a smooth finisher.  Part of that is the shortcomings of his shot mentioned above, but he really has no dekes to speak off.  His game is all 'skate-fast-then-shoot'.  With all the breaks he gets with his speed he mainly just coasts in and shoots, or simply takes the puck to his backhand and tries to beat the goalie with speed.

--Fifth, and a biggie, he has mostly disappeared playoffs while guys like Richards, Briere and Giroux step up big time (though he has been injured the last two playoff seasons).

I project Carter to be a 35-40 goal 30-35 assist guy going forward.  I kind of expect his 46 goals in 08-09 to be his career high.  This is very nice production for a defensively capable center, but not really true star center production.  For the Flyers, with three other centers who are arguably just as good or better, Carter is a luxury that can be swapped out for a more pressing need.

The Carter trade talks will surely intensify up through draft day.