Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Columbus Should Build With Jeff Carter

As the trade deadline approaches, it doesn't surprise me that Jeff Carter's name is quickly thrown around as a guy worth sending out of town via trade. So much speculation has been presented by media this year regarding his interest in the organization, yet for some reason, the conversation is rarely connected by something he has actually come out and said.  I can understand why a lot of people don't have a connection with him and assume the negative end of the story, but for a team riddled with inconsistency, why should so much be shouldered by him?  When looking to build on players, a potential forty goal scorer is a great start.

To begin this piece, I want to point out something relatively obvious.  Carter has been struggling this year.  Injuries, including a nagging foot, and a separated shoulder have kept him from gaining any form of competitive edge, and forced him out of the lineup for 19 regular season games (just shy of 40% of the regular season).  Despite all of his time injured, he still managed to score ten goals, which laughably remains second on the team.  I'll get more into this later on in the post.

To suggest he has had a fair look in Columbus is ridiculous; Injuries, very little time to build chemistry, and a depth of speculation that is quite embarrassing even for Columbus.  While I am far from personally faulting him for an off year, I thought it would be good to take some time to compare his pros and cons in order to gain a better representation of why I think he should be a part of this organization for years to come.

Pros

- I find it strange that so many folks in the media are claiming his contract is a 'tough pill to swallow' for teams interested in him.  In my opinion, especially in Columbus, it's a huge plus.  He is signed for a decade, at a cap hit of roughly 5.27 million dollars.  That is less than 'stud' defenseman James Wisniewski, 2.5 million less than Rick Nash, and just over a half million more than Umberger's five year extension that is about to kick in next season (Umberger has three more points in fourteen additional games, and has arguably been one of Columbus' biggest on ice disappointments this year).  Not only is this contract entirely reasonable, it solves Columbus' major issue with bringing in free agent talent without having to overpay.  --Don't even get me started on that

- With that cap hit, comes the potential of a forty goal scorer (not named Rick Nash).  With the exclusion of this year, Carter has averaged just over 38 goals per season over his last three years, with his career best 46 goals coming in the 08/09 season.  For a team in great need for offense, it shocks me that such a player would be not given a boatload of chances in order to recover from injury, and his relocation.

- Finally, his play with the puck.  For years, Columbus' best option on ice for 'wow' moments have been at the hands of Nash.  Even in his limited time on ice this year, Carter has impressed me with his ability to shift past defensemen with a quality deke, or take a tremendous wrist shot that can fool a goalie from any angle.  Frankly, his on ice capacity with the puck is one of his greater assets, and worth watching regardless of his output.  I have demanded for a long time that this team put emphasis on an entertaining on ice product rather than a boring, structured (read: Hitchcock) style of play.  I think Carter can bring that element just as well as Rick Nash when he has the puck.

Cons

- He's not a media darling.  Despite all the controversy, he has not seemed even remotely inclined to get his face in the middle of it.  And such is life. Some players, like the Wiz, are great for a sound bite or twenty, while others are more designed to simply play the game.  If Columbus was pursuing another guy to win over the fan base with riveting interviews, Carter was clearly the wrong choice.

- He was openly disappointed about his trade.  But let's be honest, if you committed to something for over a decade at a discounted rate, only to have that connection removed, wouldn't you feel the same? I can understand his disappointment when he was dealt from a team primed to make the playoffs to a team struggling to find its' identity, and unfortunately he has not been able to allow his on ice play do the talking for him this year.

- He's not (or at least doesn't appear to be) a vocal leader.  Again, some top tier  players are designed to take the team on their shoulders verbally or mentally (see: Toews, Nash), while others tend to focus more on their own game, and I feel like Carter is more in that second classification.  With that said, I personally don't believe he was brought in to be a vocal leader. He was brought in to be a scoring threat, and a potential number one center than Columbus has lacked for so long.

It's with those assumptions in mind that I think Carter is worth another year of consideration before making a deal.  I support the opinion that behind Nash, he would stand to be the teams best asset for trade, but his on ice production could be more valuable than his return at this point.  I look at next year, and I see a team that could be cleaned out at the bottom end (3rd and 4th line), and overhauled defensively and in net.  With that in mind, I think the following line considerations should be made rather than bolstering what I believe to be a potentially successful offense:

Nash - Brassard - Carter
Top 2 pick - Johansen - Kubalik/Atkinson

-OR-

Nash - Brassard - Johansen
Top 2 pick - Carter - Kubalik/Atkinson

That is an assumptive top two pick of course, but at this point it would take a pretty impressive turnaround for Columbus to fall out of a top two pick.  This would potentially bring in Nail Yakupov or Mikhail Grigorenko who have presented themselves as top quality talent, worthy of a second line start in the NHL.  This roster move also bolsters the third line with Umberger, and allows Columbus to part ways with players like Pahlsson(2.65mil), Huselius(4.75mil), Prospal(2.5mil), and potentially Vermette(3.75mil), which could open the door for defensive or goaltender spending on the cap.  Removing those four alone would generate 13.65 million in cap space, with only Pahlsson to replace in the current lineup (based on my suggested line combos above, and the entry level cap hit for Yakupov/Grigorenko).

I also recognize there is little visible chemistry between Nash and Carter, but given Brassard's play of late with Nash, I believe that Carter could move to wing (where he has been very successful in the past) and Brassard's speed would help to push the pace.  This gives a playmaker like Brassard the ability to look to both wings as scoring threats, and can seriously open up space in the offensive zone.  If that doesn't work, Carter can slide down to the second line and create offense where Columbus isn't used to seeing it.  provided he is given players on his wing who can get the puck on his stick, he can enjoy a year of playing secondary defenders and exploiting second rate defensive mistakes.

In short, I think Carter deserves a full, healthy year look before Columbus gives up on him.  While I can see the positive out of dealing him for prospects and budding talent now, I believe it comes at a time where knee-jerk reactions are only going to work against the short term success of this franchise.  Give him time to build some chemistry within the team, and get to know the city of Columbus better.  He may eventually fall in love with it.

Carry the Flag!

18 comments:

  1. Solid post. You raise some very good points. I can't see the Jackets trading him "at a significant loss" the way people are speculating on the interwebs. The question would be why? They don't need to do that right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate the read Greg. The 'why' is an awesome question. For a team clearly in need of top tier talent, many seem very prepared to get rid of him for whatever Howson can get. I still see him as a top tier talent, so why not wait a year? What harm can it do?

      Delete
  2. If you would have told me in August, "Jeff Carter will be 2nd on the team in goals," I'd say, "that sounds about right."

    Have we seen a Nash - Carter - Brassard combination yet? Since Carter is one of the best in the NHL in faceoffs, and Brassard is ... not, I would think that combination could work well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Certainly something to get creative around, whether it takes Brassard and Carter cycling in and out of the draws to fall back on their positions shortly after while Brass gets better at faceoffs. I don't think we've seen that combo though, and I am optimistic based on how Nash picked up his game with Brassard a short while ago.

      Delete
  3. Great piece Dan and excellent point Greg as well...I don't understand why we, as a fan base are dumping on one of our own. Rumours exist as just that right now...and some of the "Worst" Carter stories I have heard have involved equally poor behavior by fellow CBJ fans.
    When I examine Carter's play on ice this year (including he of the only hattrick in CBJ land this year), balanced with injuries, I find that I am MORE than willing to give him a chance.
    At the end of the day, I'll take a guy who plays well on ice and let the off-ice stuff take care of itself. I think Carter can be valuable...and I want to welcome him here and have him help make a difference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think one of the more laughable Carter criticisms this year was his hattrick night, people said "Carter got his hattrick and that was enough for him"..... Yeah, if Carter wants to score three goals and coast for the rest of the game each night, I am not so sure I have an issue with that!!!!

      Delete
    2. hahaha. Since no other Jacket is doing it, I'd say he's carrying MORE than his share ;)

      Delete
  4. Nice post, Dan.

    Personally, I think if they move him (or Nash) then they're shipping the two players to build around out of town. You build on Carter and Nash, not on Boll and Vermette.

    My personal take on Carter has been that of being a little underwhelmed. I've also watched enough hockey to know that it takes months, sometimes a season or more, for a guy to fit in to his new team after a trade. Throw in Carter's injuries, and his adjustment period has barely started. At his cap hit, what does it hurt to not trade him, and let him start year 2 with (what's left of) the Jackets?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Another tremendous point, thanks Tim. Definitely would rather see the team build around true talent like Nash, Carter, and Johansen rather than a player like Boll, Vermette, or even new fan favourite Dorsett.

      There are plenty of guys buyable in the NHL who are 'gritty' and 'hard working' yet only a small percentage who can perform to Nash and Carter's level. May as well build around the true value.

      Delete
  5. I would agree, but Carter clearly does not want to be playing here as evidence by his laziness on the ice. Sure he can score, but that's about all he contributes. He glides all over and is rarely seen unless he's shooting. Get us someone that seems to give a damn about being here, not someone that is still pouting about being traded.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You may be contrasting 'floating' with his skating style. Carter is a tremendously gifted skater who often only needs two strides to many players four or five strides. While I agree his on ice production was lacking, I contribute that to learning a new system (albeit a bad one- thanks Arniel) and not being able to build immediate chemistry with Nash.

      for me, this argument is the same for many of the CBJ players this year. Has there really been a standout in terms of contribution? I certainly don't think so, beyond a couple second tier players.

      Delete
  6. Very good post man. I agree they should give carter another chance. Like you said he has been injured, so which means he's not a full potential to being the best. Once he is back at 100% every thing should hopefully be fine. Get some good defense in there and possible a new goalie and we should be looking good. All the trade rumors are blowing up which a lot of people are disagreeing on. So keep Nash and Carter and go from there we could see a big improvement.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Why not tell Carter...if you outperform career numbers (or something like that), we'll renegotiate your contract. He gave Philly a discount, and is bitter. IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT $. If he plays well, and wants $7mill, trade him. His value will be high, and someone else can pay him. Time to get shrewd, not screwed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess) the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement does not allow for players to renegotiate their contracts. So that discount Carter gave to Philly is locked in.

      Delete
    2. Coach = wet blanket

      thanks for the education...Carter's bitterness is more justified. I also agree keeping Carter is the better option.

      Delete
  8. I fully agree. After seeing Nash and Brass together recently, I remember thinking that they both seemed to compliment each other. And Carter has far from exhausted my patience. He's barely even been able to play! Either of the two line options you presented would make the CBJ a much more legitimate scoring threat than they are now. Making a shooter play pivot for another shooter always felt forced, and if you put Brass between them (a man who likes to dish) you may really see them light it up. Or, as you pointed out, just split our top goal scorers up and make each of the top two lines equally dangerous. Thanks for saying what I've been thinking all year.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So, 19 games is 40% of 82 games, now? Love the math. Try 25%, instead. Otherwise, solid piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks for reading. In clarity, I was referencing what had already passed in this particular regular season (I think it was 48 games when I wrote this). That adds up to missing about 40% of the games thus far.

      Delete