The Los Angeles Kings have announced that forward Jeff Carter has undergone successful surgery to repair a core muscle injury.
Jeff Carter Surgery Successful
Jeff Carter underwent successful surgery on Thursday to repair a core muscle injury.
He will begin his rehabilitation process and is expected to be fully recovered for next season. https://t.co/YrZM49y6Yk
— LA Kings (@LAKings) June 9, 2020
The talented forward will be expected to be fully recovered in time for next season. Carter was hurt in a game Februray 18 against the Winnipeg Jets and missed the last 10 games of the shortened season.
Carter, 35 was the 11th overall selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2003 draft. This season he collected just 17 goals and 10 assists in 60 games. It marked his lowest production in his 15-year NHL career.
It is debatable if even when he has recovered from the surgery and has done rehabilitation if his 35-year-old body will be able to play at the NHL level again. Carter’s career totals include 1,040 games with 382 goals and 350 assists good for 732 points. He has added 112 power play tallies and has assisted on 102 others. He had an 11.3 percent shooting accuracy as well.
Jeff Carter had a career 52.2 Corsi For and a -0.7 Relative Corsi to his credit.
What This Means Going Forward
Carter is signed for another two years with an AAV of $5.272 million. If the Kings decided to buy out his contract it would cost them $2.667 million to do so. Much depends on how well he recovers from the surgery. He has been in trade rumours in the past, but due to his age and low production that doesn’t seem to be feasible.
His days of scoring 46 goals and 38 assists during the 2008-09 season are a past memory. While he could still be a useful player after his return, the Kings need to decide what to do about his future in Los Angeles.
Many times an injury like this takes time to recover and at his age that will only be aggrevated.
This may be the end of the road for Carter, we’ll need to wait and see.
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