While the Penguins general manager has shown to be an unserious person unwilling to make the team better the head coach has a positive track record with the franchise. On super hero night in Pittsburgh Mike Sullivan reminded everyone that Jeff Carter is his Kryptonite. Every game Mike Sullivan plays Jeff Carter he chips away at the good will he has built up through the years.
Jeff Carter is completely washed. The Penguins have like 100 centers on the roster right now. Yet guess who keeps coming over the boards late in games and in overtime? One of the worst players on the team. Last night Carter’s actions led directly to the tying goal. He high sticked the puck out of the zone, which is totally fine, and then chased down the puck and intentionally shot it.
He knows very well how high his stick was and he still went down and touched the puck. The very next faceoff in the Penguins zone led to the Islanders tying goal. It is just another negative moment for a player full of them this season.
You see people hoping for him to retire, but bad news, it won’t help. He has a 35+ contract and the cap hit stays. Even if you had a general manager who was competent Carter has a full no movement clause given by the incompetent general manager. So trading him isn’t a probable solution, either. Best case scenario is something like a Marian Hossa skin allergy which gives Carter a path to LTIR. The team gets cap relief and Carter gets his money.
For now, the solution is easy. Just don’t play him. When Ryan Poehling returns they will have five playable centers not named Jeff Carter in: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino, and Poehling. You don’t have to wait for Poehling because they already have four playable centers. If Mikael Granlund isn’t up to the task then what was his acquisition for in the first place?
The Penguins next game is tomorrow afternoon against the Flyers. We will see if Mike Sullivan will crater his team’s chances again.
Thanks for reading!
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