With the trade deadline looming, some teams might want to remember that the best deals are often those not made.
Just ask Jeff Carter.
Or the Philadelphia Flyers.
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| Jeff Carter has added more power and leadership to his game. (Getty Images) |
The transformation appeared to begin once it became clear the big 24-year-old center with the speed and the great shot was staying in Philadelphia. With the distraction of the March trade deadline behind him, Carter almost immediately took his game to a higher level, becoming a critical factor in Philadelphia's desperate late charge to a playoff spot, and then was a key performer in the postseason.
This season he has more points than anyone on the Flyers, and has been challenging for the league goal-scoring lead for the last three months.
Naturally, Carter insists the overnight sensation thing is all just a coincidence.
"I always knew I could score, but it kind of takes a little longer at this level to get adjusted," Carter said. "I think when you come out of junior as a young kid and you're a highly touted player, you think you can just come in and play but it takes a lot. It's a different lifestyle and it's a business.
"That's why I never really worried about all those (trade) rumors because there was nothing I could do. You hear about them because you can't avoid it, but I knew those things were out of my control, so ... I just went out and played the way I do every night."
Well, maybe a little better. Carter was the 11th pick in the remarkable 2003 draft, a class from which the Flyers landed Mike Richards as well in the first round. Both players have been with the team since the lockout ended, but Carter had not quite reached expectations the way Richards did. At least, not until the deadline passed last March when the Flyers were fighting for their playoff lives and dealing with injuries to centers Richards and Daniel Briere.
Carter filled the void by scoring eight times in nine games, while playing a defensive role killing penalties and in late protective situations as Philadelphia went 5-2-2 during a stretch that secured the seventh seed in the East. He followed with six goals and 11 points in the playoffs. This season, despite being a notoriously slow starter, he scored in eight of his first 11 games, and with 32 goals so far, is on pace for a 50-goal season.
"What you're seeing is probably a carryover from last season," said Flyers GM Paul Holmgren. "Late last year, when we were minus Danny and Mike for a stretch of games, he stepped it up a lot and carried our team at a real critical time, and I think it did a lot for his confidence."
So did the three-year, $15-million contract the Flyers gave Carter before he could have been tempted by other teams as a restricted free agent in July. That got business out of the way early enough for Carter to spend the summer concentrating on preparing for training camp, and he arrived in great shape with his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame more filled out. The added strength has been noticeable to his teammates, who say it has made a difference in his game.
"You watch him play and you see he's bigger, just more of a power forward, using his body a lot more effectively," said Richards, now team captain. "He's gotten to where he can push people off and get more open areas to get his shot off. And you know he's going to beat people wide because his speed is so good."
Good enough in fact for Carter to finish second in the speed-skating race at the All-Star Skills competition. Carter's deceptive speed is a big part of his offense, and so is his willingness to shoot four to five times a game on average. And maybe most important this season, he has found a comfort zone playing with wingers Scott Hartnell and Joffrey Lupul on a regular basis, after going through a variety of linemates since joining the Flyers.
"They're good friends off the ice and a lot of times that gives good chemistry on the ice, but one thing that is different about Jeff is there's a little more emotion in his game than before," said Flyers coach John Stevens. "If the team is down he gets a little angry; when he scores, he gets excited.
"I'm not sure if that emotion was present before but it is now, and it goes hand in hand with more confidence. There's more emotion in his game than I've ever seen and that's allowed him to take his game to the next level."
HardHitt3n 
