One thing I often say when it comes to hockey is that the most important position is goaltender. He also hasn't quite been the reason they've been up and down all year long, but as The Athletic's Josh Yohe likes to say: you are allowed to make a big save once in a while. 912 save percentage, which while not too bad, also isn't great. This stretch run could be just that proving ground. Between the injuries and the inconsistencies in the postseason, he has a lot left to prove. Right now, I don't think he's worth that. Have you heard – Tristan Jarry is a free agent this summer and he wants a reported 5-year, $5 million deal. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Mikes that coach the two fall and winter franchises, Sullivan and Tomlin, are among the best in the business but if they have one flaw in common it's that they are fiercely loyal, sometimes to a fault.Ĭarter can still play a role on a winning team, but it must be a much more diminished one.

Hextall, as far as I know, isn't forcing Sullivan to play Carter this much, or at all. While Mike Sullivan can't truly control the way Ron Hextall builds a roster, between Jeff Jimmerson's national anthem and the final buzzer, he controls the lineup card. He needs to be a winger.Ĭarter continues to be put out in key situations – late leads, right after goals, and so on.

Jeff Carter still has the shot necessary to be an effective goal-scorer in the National Hockey League, but not as a center. That's also nothing to be ashamed of, time is the only consistent in this life and it comes for all of us. A once very solid goal-scoring center is now a shell of that description.

The Final Flaw by Michael R. Sullivan