The Case For Jeff Carter

by Zachary Zielonka on Jun 23, 2011 10:01 AM EDT

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 16: Tyler Myers #57 of the Buffalo Sabres checks Jeff Carter #17 of the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period of Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on April 16, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

After the speculation that the Flyers made a deal with Ilya Bryzgalov for a seven year, $50 million contract, Twitter started going slightly crazy over the speculation of who had to be moved to make room for the contract. The Flyers are denying that either side has come to a consensus but it got some of us thinking. The guys from Dear God Why Us, Phil from Black, Blue, and Gold, and others started debating whether bringing Jeff Carter to Buffalo would be worth what the Flyers would be asking for.

I believe that the consensus among us was an absolute yes, but not to give too much up for him. The reason for not giving up too much is that the Sabres would be dealing from a hand of strength. The Flyers should have $5.4 million of cap space when the salary cap raises to $64 million this year. The Bryzgalov contract will average out to $7.1 million, so the Flyers will need to move at least $1.7 million to fit Bryzgalov in and more to make some more moves.

There seems to be interest by the Flyers to move Carter's contract over the offseason. The Columbus Blue Jackets seemed to have the inside track on Carter, as prefaced by this piece by the Columbus Dispatch's Aaron Portzline:

The Blue Jackets' pursuit of Philadelphia center Jeff Carter has been well-chronicled in both markets. At this point, it looks like the Jackets are more interested in acquiring Carter than the Flyers are in trading him, but that could change.

The Sabres would need to make a deal that made sense and that would most likely be a package of picks and prospects with a cheaper player thrown in. Some deals thrown about included Tyler Ennis, Brayden McNabb, and a 2nd round pick, another was Tyler Ennis and either Andrej Sekera or Chris Butler, the final was Sekera and Luke Adam.

The Sabres will have to deal with Carter's extremely long term contract if they picked him up as Carter is signed through the 2022 season. That is still 10 more years to deal with a contract that could handcuff the Sabres a long time down the road.

There are other centers out there being bandied about. Colorado's Paul Stastny should be available, but the Avalanche would be looking for a franchise goaltender in the process. Ottawa's Jason Spezza has been rumored to be available as well.

There is one thing that we do know, the Sabres do need a number one center and that the free agent market is really devoid of them. The Sabres are going to have to make a trade if they want to acquire one this season.

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Comments

I'd love Carter

Not terribly concerned about the length of his deal, but really unsure of who we could give up. I like our guys. I wouldn’t mind offloading Roy instead of Adam. I might even throw Pominville in or Butler.
And just throwing it out there – any chance the Sabres could get Richards AND Carter?

by Philaster on Jun 23, 2011 10:53 AM EDT reply actions

Roy?

I wouldn’t like losing another C though…Roy is an established and improving #2 C. Pommers I’d be better with, but mostly because I think hes overpaid. Of course that’s the problem if Philly needs to dump salary. I wouldn’t mind dumping most anyone else, a prospect not named Kassian or McNabb, and an early pick though. Overall though I would rather they go for Richards (unlikely as it may seem) or Stastny first though. I know Stastny isn’t a favorite w/ some here but I really like him and he’s still very young.

by buffaloparks on Jun 23, 2011 11:22 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Isnt trading Roy putting yourself right back into the same situation that you were in before. The team would still need a high quality center then

Die By The Blade - Where we've even turned ourselves around since January 1st.

by Zachary Zielonka on Jun 23, 2011 12:25 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I wouldn’t like losing Roy either, especially considering his year last year, but I’m not sure he’s great in the locker room. I’d like a Center who’s more of a leader. No specific problem, but I just don’t know if he has the hunger.

by Philaster on Jun 23, 2011 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Would never trade Roy or Pommer

Why? This would need to be a cost saving measure and both those guys have pretty decent contracts. You’re looking at moving a Gerbe, Ennis or the like.

http://buffalosportsfan.com

by buffalosportsfan on Jun 23, 2011 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Really Roy?

Roy has played in 8 more games than Carter at an NHL level yet scored 40 more points. He also has a better contract than Carter.

by Monotonousblob on Jun 23, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Agree

Carter would be a great acquision and the Sabres need to make that kind of move if they are seriously challlenge in the playoffs.

by Geolover on Jun 23, 2011 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't see why we should trade Ennis+ for anyone less than a star top 5 center

All these centers we have talked about scored around the mid-60s in points last year while being 5+ years older than Ennis, who scored 49 points and is a natural center (though I don’t know how good.) I don’t understand why we would trade for about 15 more points which are more than possible for Ennis (who still is in his beginning contract then RFA) for players who played all year with usually better linemates with at least a few years of growing and NHL experience.

Ennis, Gerbe, Myers, Roy, Vanek and Miller should be the only locked players (unless for a a real blockbuster) as they represent our core and our our future.

by Monotonousblob on Jun 23, 2011 11:51 AM EDT reply actions

The Sabres wont exactly be dealing from a "hand of strength"

There are plenty of other teams that want his services on their team, probably around 15 or 20. They simply pick the best deal and go with that.

by Rally_Shots on Jun 23, 2011 12:36 PM EDT reply actions

They would be more likely to deal him out west if they were to do it. I think in order to get Philly to bite you would have to overpay….More than you already would have to.

"Thank you very much fans and let’s go for the next game together!"

— Lubomir Visnovsky

I rec’d that shit.

by Steven Hida on Jun 23, 2011 12:58 PM EDT reply actions

I find myself dreaming

that Chris Pronger would be available. Just imagine a Myers-Pronger combo.

I mean just for a second. Let your self dream. lol

The player I would like least at #9 would be my sister’s cat, Captain Creamsicle. She does have a great work ethic and agility, but I’m really concerned that at 9 lbs., she’s too small to play safety in the NFL. She also bites way too often on play action and is easily distracted by someone waving string in the crowd. Lastly, her wonderlic score was pretty awful, answering "meow meow meow" for most of the questions- Dr. Brackish Okun

by mob16151 on Jun 23, 2011 1:29 PM EDT reply actions

Id rather have spezza than carter

This is just my feeling but spezza has shown when he has snipers around him, he produces 90-100 points.
Carter’s are good player but if you want a #1 centre go for the best available, and that would be spezza

by DOSKY21 on Jun 23, 2011 2:23 PM EDT reply actions

No to the contract length, no to the proposed trades, and no to the entire idea. A 10 year contract would absolutely handcuff this franchise. The young players we’d lose would very likely end up outproducing Carter for a fraction of the cost. If we are going to bring in a top center, it has to be for the correct contract length and the player cost has to be reasonable. Neither is true in this scenario. I think Spezza could be a much better bargain. The hype about Richards and Carter is nauseating, these guys are not worth the handcuffs they’ll put on your team. People look at exceptional franchise-defining players like Crosby or Ovechkin and see the benefits of long contracts, but don’t forget about situations like DiPietro or Yashin on the Islanders, these contract lengths are only good if the talent is guaranteed, and even then the stamina/health issues are still a risk.

by lassathrax on Jun 23, 2011 2:55 PM EDT reply actions

Spezza has been rumored to have both a drug problem, bad attitude, and a horrible injury history of late. No thanks.

by Philaster on Jun 23, 2011 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I would have those qualities as well if I played for the Sens… just saying…

Seriously though, I am not very interested in anyone who is available or rumored to be available… It is quite pathetic, really. At this point I just hope Roy has matured into a legitimate top-line role and we can bring in a good 2nd or 3rd line center.

by lassathrax on Jun 24, 2011 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions