LA Kings Land Jeff Carter in Deal

In a move that could revive the NHL's worst offense, the Los Angeles Kings acquired forward Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jack Johnson and a conditional first round draft selection in either the 2012 or 2013 NHL Entry Draft.  The trade is contingent on both players passing physicals

“Jeff is a proven goal scorer in our league.  He brings goal-scoring abilities, speed and at his age he is entering the prime of his career.  We also like his versatility as he can play both center and wing,” said GM Dean Lombardi.  “We also want to wish Jack Johnson the best going forward.”

Carter has scored 30-or more goals three times and 20-or-more goals five times during his NHL career.  More importantly, he is only 27 years old.

Still, there is a catch.  Carter is signed to a seemingly never-ending deal that lasts through the 2021-22 NHL season.  He stands to make roughly $5.2 million per season under that contract.

Despite the benefit of superior goaltending all season, the Kings have underachieved due to an offense averaging a paltry 2.05 goals per game.  The Kings' deficiencies were vividly on display last week, as they suffered consecutive 1-0 shutout losses to Phoenix and Calgary.

To offset the loss of Johnson, the Kings have recalled rookie defenseman Slava Voynov from the minors.

Johnson, 25, had 24 points and 24 penalty minutes in 61 games for the Kings this season. He was averaging 22 minutes per game this season.

Carter is expected to join the team this Saturday against Chicago.

By Staff of the The Daily Sports Herald and Wire Reports