Jeff Carter

Jeffrey Jarvis Carter (born January 1, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Los Angeles Kings.

Carter was selected in the first round, 3rd overall, of the 2001 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

He began his OHL career in 2001–02, recording 35 points over 63 games as a rookie.

The following season, he improved to 71 points.

He was drafted 11th overall by the Flyers in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

In the off-season, the Philadelphia Flyers selected him 11th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Returning to the Greyhounds following his draft, he earned Second Team OHL All-Star honours in 2003–04 with a 66-point campaign.

Back in the OHL for his final junior season in 2004–05, he recorded a major junior career-high 74 points (34 goals and 40 assists) in 55 games.

He was a First Team OHL All-Star that season and won the OHL and CHL Sportsman of the Year Awards.

Joining the Flyers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, immediately after his junior career, he helped the team win the Calder Cup in 2005.

Internationally, Carter has won gold medals with Team Canada at the under-18, under-20 levels and at the Winter Olympics.

During his under-20 career, he tied as Canada's all-time leading scorer at the World Juniors and was named to back-to-back Tournament All-Star Teams.

Following his third OHL season, he was assigned by the Flyers to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, for their 2005 Calder Cup playoff season.

He recorded five points over 12 games in his initial stint at the professional level.

After the Greyhounds were eliminated from the 2005 OHL playoffs, Carter joined the Phantoms once more and recorded 23 points (12 goals and 11 assists) in 21 playoff games, helping the team win the Calder Cup.

The next season, in 2005–06, Carter made the Flyers' roster out of training camp.

He was joined by fellow rookies Mike Richards and R. J. Umberger, who were both also instrumental in the Phantoms' Calder Cup championship of the previous season.

He scored his first career NHL goal on October 27, 2005, against Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers.

He finished the campaign first in team-scoring among rookies with 23 goals and 42 points.

He has also represented Canada at the 2006 IIHF World Championship.

After 37- and 53-point efforts in his second and third NHL seasons, respectively, Carter and the Flyers agreed to a three-year, $15-million contract extension on June 27, 2008, days before he was set to become a restricted free agent.

He responded with a breakout campaign in 2008–09, leading the team in scoring with 46 goals and 84 points.

During the season, he was also named to his first NHL All-Star Game, representing the Eastern Conference.

Despite a strong regular season, Carter was held to just one goal in six Stanley Cup playoff games as the Flyers were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

His series was also marred when he failed to score with an open net in front of him in Game 2 of the series, where Penguins goalie Marc-André Fleury made a toe save to block the shot that would have given the Flyers a 3–1 lead late in the third period.

Carter was later called off for a hooking penalty and the Penguins scored to tie the game and eventually win in overtime.

It was later revealed that Carter had played the final four games of the series with a separated shoulder.

On November 13, 2010, Carter signed an 11-year, $58 million contract extension with the Flyers through to the 2021–22 season, the longest contract of his career.

Carter also played 39 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2011–12 season before being traded to Los Angeles.

Carter played junior hockey for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League.

He was a First Team All-Star, William Hanley Trophy and CHL Sportsman of the Year honors in his final year.

While in the midst of a major re-tooling, the Flyers traded Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 23, 2011, in exchange for Jakub Voráček, a 2011 first-round pick (Sean Couturier) and a 2011 third-round pick (Nick Cousins).

Despite being injured in the start of the season, Carter was named an alternate captain with the Blue Jackets, one of four rotating alternates along with James Wisniewski, former Flyers teammate R. J. Umberger and Antoine Vermette.

During his NHL career, he has won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 (both with Los Angeles), has appeared in two All-Star Games in 2009 and 2017, and led the Philadelphia Flyers – for whom he played six seasons – in scoring during their 2008–09 campaign; his 46 goals during that season were good for second overall in the NHL.

On February 23, 2012, Carter was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jack Johnson and a conditional first-round pick, reuniting him with former Flyer and close friend Mike Richards.

Carter represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he won a gold medal.

Carter played minor hockey in London, Ontario, with the London Jr. Knights rep program.

He then played bantam hockey with the AAA Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) before spending a season with the Strathroy Rockets, a Junior B team.

While playing with Strathroy, Carter's teammates included Jared Keeso.