Carter Can't Wait to Get Going with Pens

Jeff Carter will likely make his Penguins debut on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he spent the first six seasons of his career after they selected him in the first round of the 2003 NHL Draft.

After arriving in Pittsburgh last night and getting to UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex this morning, the topic of conversation in the locker room between Carter and his new captain, Sidney Crosby, quickly turned to that rivalry.
"Sid and I were talking about that, just the battles that we had when we first came into the league and whatnot," Carter said. "Always had a lot of respect for the veteran guys that are here that I've played against, Sid and (Evgeni) Malkin and (Kris) Letang and those guys. Just happy to be able to suit up with them now, and I'm looking forward to it."
One of the strengths of this Penguins team is veteran leadership, and head coach Mike Sullivan is thrilled to add Carter to that group of names mentioned above.
The Penguins have so much respect for the 36-year-old forward, who had spent the last 10 seasons of his career with Los Angeles before Pittsburgh acquired him in the early-morning hours on Monday. He comes to Pittsburgh as a two-time Stanley Cup champion after helping the Kings win in 2012 and '14, playing instrumental roles in those runs.
"He understands what it takes to win," Sullivan said. "He has that personal experience. I think it means a lot to our team. And certainly, I just think it brings a certain level of credibility when he walks into our room."
Carter said the thought of adding a third Stanley Cup to his resumé is what excites him the most about joining the Penguins.
"That's the ultimate goal, no matter where you are every year," Carter said. "Coming here and joining this team with the run they're on right now and in the position that we're in, it's exciting. I can't wait to get back to the playoffs and make a run at it, and hopefully we can get the job done."
Carter started hearing talk a few weeks ago that Penguins general manager Ron Hextall was interested in acquiring him so that the team could do just that.
Carter didn't hear much after that until Sunday morning, when his agent called him after he woke up and told him that something would probably happen. He learned that afternoon a deal would be going through, which didn't come as a huge surprise, as the rebuilding Kings needed to open up some space for some of their younger players.
"I'll be honest with you, I probably expected (a trade) to come at some point," said Carter, whose contract runs through the 2021-22 campaign and confirmed that he will play next season. "Didn't think that it would happen this year, but that's the way it goes. I loved my time in LA and made some lifelong friends and was able to have a lot of success there. But I'm excited to be here."
Carter has already gotten the chance to reunite with some familiar faces, particularly Hextall, as they have a long history. Hextall was the Flyers director of player personnel when the organization drafted him, and the Kings assistant general manager when Los Angeles orchestrated a deal to acquire Carter from Columbus ahead of the trade deadline back in 2012.
"Basically my whole career, we've been following each other around," Carter said with a laugh. "I've known Hexy for a long time, and we have a really good relationship. I was able to see him this morning and chat a bit with him and (director of player personnel) Chris Pryor. Also played juniors with (hockey operations advisor) Trevor Daley and Sid and a bunch of the guys, so it's nice to see some familiar faces. It makes it easier coming into a room, for sure."
The Penguins feel strongly that not only is Carter going to fit seamlessly into the chemistry off the ice; he's going to fit in seamlessly on the ice as well.
"We all think that Jeff is the guy that checks a lot of boxes," Sullivan said. "He's a versatile player. He can really skate. He's an accomplished player with some Stanley Cup experience under his belt. And so there's so many aspects of Jeff, both his performance on the ice and the character of his personality, that that we think is going to be beneficial for our team."
Carter said his role in LA changed over the past couple of years, moving from center to wing and playing more of a mentor role with those young players, something he said he actually really enjoyed.
While Carter said he's totally comfortable playing either position, Sullivan said he'll likely start in the middle, as that is a direct need he can help them address right away, with Frederick Gaudreau (week-to-week, lower-body) joining Evgeni Malkin on the injury list. Sullivan also envisions Carter being part of both special teams units.
The team was scheduled for an off-ice workout this morning, but Carter broke in some of his new Penguins equipment on the ice skating with Malkin. He's looking forward to getting into a full team practice on Wednesday to start getting familiarized with how Pittsburgh plays ahead of Thursday's matchup with the Flyers.
"It'll be nice and refreshing to get out there on Thursday against the Flyers and play some new teams," Carter said. "It'll be nice to have some fans in the stands, too. We haven't had any in LA. It'll be nice to get some fans behind you. Wherever I fit in here, and which line or which role or whatever it may be, I'm just looking forward to getting out there and helping."