As the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaches, have Tampa Bay Lightning fans witnessed the beginning of the end for Lightning defenseman Matt Carle?
It is safe to say the Tampa Bay Lightning have experienced quite a bit more than their fair struggles this season. Between the offensive struggles that plagued the beginning of the season followed by the uncanny amount of injuries the team has faced this season, the Lightning has struggled to find any sort of consistency.
There is one topic we haven’t heard as much about this season, but still remains a lingering issue for the Tampa Bay Lightning. This would be their ever-apparent defensive struggles. If you ask almost any Tampa Bay Lightning fan what is the main cause of the Lightning’s defensive issues this season, there is one name you will hear over and over again…Matt Carle.
While there is absolutely nothing set in stone at the moment, and plenty of hockey left to play in between now and the official NHL Trade Deadline, which is set for February 29, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. EST, there is a possibility Tampa Bay Lightning fans may have already witnessed the beginning of the end for Matt Carle.
One of the biggest complaints had by many Tampa Bay Lightning fans is the differential between Carle’s production on the ice and the rather large price tag his contract carries. Right now, Matt Carle’s contract carries a $5.5 million price tag until the conclusion of the 2017-18 season where Carle will become an Unrestricted Free Agent. Despite his lack of production, Carle carries the highest contract of all Lightning defensemen.
It has been noted plenty of times over the course of the season that Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper is looking for players who can play on both sides of the ice. Cooper wants to see offensively minded defensemen as well as defensively-minded forwards. Unfortunately, Matt Carle has absolutely no offensive production this season, and less-than-stellar production on the defensive end.
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In terms of points, Matt Carle comes up pretty empty so far this season. Carle has taken the ice in a Lightning sweater this season in a total of 33 games. In that amount of time, Carle has yet to come up with a single goal or assist, and carries a negative-6 plus/minus rating.
Not only does this place him at the bottom of the list amongst main roster staples like Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, but it puts Carle behind players like Nikita Nesterov. Nesterov has played in just 20 games so far this season and has been able to come up with two goals.
When it comes to the defensive side of things, the numbers send a fairly mixed message. Let’s take a look at some of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s defensive numbers this season. The chart below is courtesy of NHL.com.
On the bright side of things, Matt Carle’s number of giveaways is fairly low. Carle comes in with 9 giveaways so far this season. This puts him ahead of the pack when it comes to the usual main roster players.
In slightly less amazing, but not particularly horrible news, Matt Carle currently has 40 blocked shots this season. While this is nowhere near the amount of shots blocked by defensemen like Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, Carle does come in ahead of Andrej Sustr, who is looking at 37 blocked shots thus far.
Here’s where things start to get a little dicey for the 31 year old Alaskan defenseman. Matt Carle has a grand total of a whopping 13 hits so far this season. Yes, ladies and gentlemen…those numbers are not transposed. Matt Carle has a total of 13 hits through 33 games this season.
This comes out to an average of a mere .4 hits per game. Not even a single hit per game. Leading the way for the Tampa Bay Lightning through 42 games is defenseman Braydon Coburn, who has a total of 66 hits thus far. This brings Coburn’s average to 1.6 hits per game.
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As we mentioned before, absolutely no one affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning has said anything derogatory about Matt Carle, nor have they hinted in any fashion they may be looking to unload him before the trade headline, but there are a few key things that have us believing there may be more than meets the eye.
Tampa Bay Times Staff Writer Joe Smith pointed out before the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night that Matt Carle had been made a healthy scratch for the third game in a row. In addition to this, it was the eighth time Carle has been in this situation so far this season.
This sounds eerily familiar to what happened to both former Lightning left wing Ryan Malone and former Lightning defenseman Eric Brewer before they were unceremoniously unloaded by the Lightning.
Granted, both Malone and Brewer’s exit from the Tampa Bay Lightning were for very different reasons and carried out in different fashions, both of the aforementioned players found themselves as healthy scratches on more than one occasion leading to their departure from the team.
Back on January 5th, as the Tampa Bay Lightning prepared to take on the Calgary Flames, Matt Carle found out he would once again be watching the game from the press box as he was set to be a healthy scratch once again. In speaking with Joe Smith, Carle said the news was “gut-wrenching.”
No player, no matter what position they play, is happy to be forced to watch the game from afar as their teammates lay it all out on the ice. Unfortunately, when it becomes a regular occurrence it is pretty good indication that something is very wrong here.
When asked if he had been approached about waiving his modified no-movement clause, he indicated that he hadn’t and he hoped to finish out his contract in Tampa Bay. However, Carle did go on to say the matter was “out of his control.” This is not the response of someone who knows for certain his position on the team is in good standing.
Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman has a tough decision to make heading into the trade deadline. There are plenty of key components to the Lightning’s foundation whose contracts will be up at the conclusion of the season.
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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, forwards Alex Killorn, J.T. Brown, Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Cedric Paquette, and Jonathan Marchessault are just a handful of the players who will be in need of a new deal at the end of the season.
The question at hand is would it be in the best interest of the Tampa Bay Lightning to rid themselves of a contract the size of Carle’s if it meant they could afford to re-up many of the players needing new deals this season? Many Lightning fans would venture to say yes. While there is a large part of us here at Bolts By the Bay who would like to agree on the matter, we are going to have to defer this one to Mr. Yzerman.
Since making his way to the Bolts Nation, Steve Yzerman has been the driving force in developing a strong core of players who not only represent the present Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Tampa Bay Lightning of the future. While we may not have understood his intentions at the time, when you take a look at the grand scheme of things, they have always been for the greater good. We expect no less this time around.
What do you think on the matter? If you were Steve Yzerman, would you be searching for a potential destination for Matt Carle at the end of the season, or do you think he should have more time to prove his worth to the team and continue on throughout his contract as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cast your vote in our poll and let us know what you really think in the comments below.
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