Kings Sign Jeff Carter, Best Hockey Player Since Gretzky, In His Mind Anyway

If you are an NHL Fan you have no doubt read the news by now, the first blockbuster deal of the 2012 trade deadline has taken place, sending whiny baby Jeff Carter out of Columbus to the Kings for up and coming young defensemen Jack Johnson and a conditional first round draft pick.

This move is going to either make GM Dean Lombardi look like the biggest genius in the league this year, or the biggest goat. See Scott Burnside’s Waterloo comparison. Every year in this league one team takes a chance on a certain player that most people see more downside in taking then upside. A player with a certain attitude that people just hate to be around. Bring in Jeff Carter. Unhappy from the start with his trade from Philadelphia to Columbus (but lets be honest who would be happy with that trade?), he has been injury plagued all year scoring just 15 goals this year while playing in just 39 games.

The only thing that seems to be working right with Carter is his negative attitude in Columbus. Puck Daddy.com mentions this article Rick Curran, Former Editor of the Hockey Writers is a Columbus resident who says that :

Both “emerging media” and traditional media were rife with stories of Carter not wanting to be in Columbus. Both Carter and the Blue Jackets issued the usual rebuttals to this, although they seemed to ring hollow.

Independent sources have confirmed that there have been inquiries about a Carter trade, but they cooled to the notion of a trade when his unhappiness/attitude with Columbus were confirmed to the interested teams.

The move also reunites Carter with his former teammate in Philly, Mike Richards. Both men signed large contracts in Philly before being shipped out of town before the next season started. But reunited again, can they produce together? The Kings are betting a lot of money that they will.

The move puts the Kings on the hook for the remainder of a contract that lasts for 11 years at $5.2 million per year. A rather large investment for a team counting on a player who has been inconsistent this season, and hardly played very much. This makes this contract a dangerous one that could leave the Kings in shambles for the next 10 years if it does not pan out. In a salary cap league teams have to be careful about where they spend their money, and this move could go down as reckless if it doesn’t pan out.

Columbus is looking to bolster its team, already looking forward to next year and giving themselves some cap room by getting rid of Carter’s lengthy contract. They have made two moves already to this point and the Jackets are looking to make more with players like Rick Nash still on the table for teams to take interest in.

In an already talented packed Pacific Division the Kings find themselves 5 points out of first place behind the division leading San Jose Sharks. If the Sharks, along with other divisional teams do not make deadline moves to counter the one made by the Kings, Carter could lead the Kings to a division title, if he can stay healthy and produce. More to come on that Monday or Tuesday as Dangle Sauce will analyze deadline winners and losers.