Pure goal-scorers are treasured assets for an NHL team, and Carter has been in demand because he is a sniper of the highest order.

Solidly built at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, the London, Ontario, native built his game around putting the puck into the net. A first-round pick (No. 11) of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2003 NHL Draft, Carter used his strong skating ability and a hard, accurate shot to become a feared scorer.

At age 20, Carter made the Flyers out of training camp before the 2005-06 season and started quickly with six goals and nine points over his first 16 games. That included his first NHL goal, against Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers in a 5-4 win Oct. 27, 2005, and his first two-goal game in an 8-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 3, 2005. Carter's 23 goals that season tied him for seventh among NHL rookies and he appeared in all six of Philadelphia's postseason games in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After finishing 2007-08 tied for third on the Flyers with 29 goals, Carter scored his first NHL playoff point with a goal in Game 2 of Philadelphia's first-round series with Washington in 2008. He finished Philadelphia's run to the 2008 Eastern Conference Final fourth on the team with six playoff goals and fifth with 11 points.

In 2008-09, Carter, a center/wing, earned his first All-Star Game selection and finished the season second in the NHL with 46 goals. He got his first NHL hat trick as part of a four-point game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 3, 2009, and had a League-high 12 game-winning goals that season.

After leading Philadelphia in goals for a third straight season in 2010-11, Carter was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 23, 2011, for Jakub Voracek and a first- and third-round draft pick in 2011. The Blue Jackets named Carter an alternate captain, but he played 39 games with Columbus before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 23, 2012, for Jack Johnson and a first-round draft pick in 2013.

Carter's eight goals for Los Angeles during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs helped the Kings win their first championship and tied him for the NHL lead. After finishing fourth in the League with 26 goals during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Carter was second on the Kings with 10 goals and 25 points in the 2014 playoffs as Los Angeles won its second title in three seasons.

Carter also has had plenty of highlights in international play, including scoring three goals and five points in six games for Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2014 Olympics, and scoring seven goals in six games to help Canada win gold at the 2005 World Junior Championship.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• OHL Second All-Star Team (2004)
• OHL First All-Star Team (2005)
• Canadian Major Junior Sportsman of the Year (2005)
• Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team (2005)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2009, 2017)
• Traded to Columbus by Philadelphia for Jakub Voracek and Columbus' 1st (Sean Couturier) and 3rd (Nick Cousins) round picks in 2011 NHL Draft, June 23, 2011.
• Traded to Los Angeles by Columbus for Jack Johnson and Los Angeles' 1st round pick (Marko Dano) in 2013 NHL Draft, February 23, 2012.
• Traded to Pittsburgh by Los Angeles for a conditional pick in 2022 NHL Draft and 2023 NHL Draft, April 12, 2021.