Jeff Carter retires after 19 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter is calling it a career after nearly two decades.
The 39-year-old helped the Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. Over his largely productive career, he played 10 seasons with the Kings, six with the Philadelphia Flyers, four with the Penguins, and part of one with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Carter notched 442 goals and 409 assists in 1,321 regular-season games. He netted the Penguins' final tally of this campaign in a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
Every member of the Islanders shook hands with Jeff Carter before leaving the ice in what could be his final NHL game 🥺 pic.twitter.com/KBVIJrfRph
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 18, 2024
Carter confirmed postgame that he's hanging up his skates for good.
"Not sure (what I'm going to do now)," Carter said. "I'm going to be a dad. You miss a lot being a hockey player. You're in and out and away ... My family - all hockey families - sacrificed a lot for us to leave out our dream. So I'm going to be home and be a dad for a while, and then we'll figure it out from there."
The Canadian added 47 tallies and 37 helpers in 133 playoff contests.
Carter tied for the league lead with eight playoff goals over 20 games during the Kings' 2012 championship run, then racked up 25 points (including 10 goals) across 26 postseason contests in 2014. Carter trailed only teammate Anze Kopitar for the playoff points lead and fellow King Marian Gaborik for the postseason lead in goals during that second Cup run.
Carter amassed a career-high 46 goals and 38 assists with the Flyers in 2008-09. He topped the team in goals and points that season.
The Ontario-born center was a two-time All-Star who won gold with Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the World Junior Championship in 2005.