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Jeff Carter traded to Pittsburgh Penguins

The Los Angeles Kings players are currently saying their goodbyes to veteran forward Jeff Carter, per a report from TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Where’s he heading? Back to Pennsylvania, to join the Pittsburgh Penguins.

McKenzie is quick to note that the trade call has not yet been made, so nothing is official or finalized, at the time of the report. The trade has since been confirmed by the Kings.

The 36-year-old forward was drafted eleventh overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter won the Calder Cup with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, in 2005. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011, but was headed to Los Angeles within the season. With the Kings, Carter won two Stanley Cups, as well a Gold Medal with Team Canada in the 2014 Olympic Games.

In total, Carter has played in 1,080 NHL games between the three teams, tallying 390 goals and 361 assists.

Carter has one additional season remaining on the 11-year contract he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. He carries a cap hit of $5,272,727, but the contract was front-loaded in real dollars, with a $2 million salary in the final two seasons. The Kings have retained 50 percent of his remaining contract.

In exchange for Carter, the Kings receive a conditional third-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2023 draft. If the Penguins make the Stanley Cup Final and Carter plays in at least 50 percent of those postseason games in 2021, the third-round pick in 2022 becomes a second-round pick. If Carter plays at least 50 games in the 2021-22 season, the 2023 fourth-round selection will upgrade to a third-round pick.

It’s possible that Carter retires after this season, which would result in the Kings and Blue Jackets facing a cap-recapture penalty, due to the CBA rule about players with long contracts signed in the previous CBA retiring early. Here’s how that would shake out:

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