Matt Carle – The Puck Mover Needed?

I don’t think anyone will argue the fact that the Edmonton Oilers need help on the blueline. The unit, as a whole, struggles mightily to move the puck out of the zone and to the forwards. As a result, that decreases the offensive chances for the Oil and increases the scoring chances against.

Essentially, if you can’t move the puck out, you are destined to be a bad hockey team. I believe Edmonton’s puck moving struggles directly correlates to their current 4-8-0 record.

Could veteran Matt Carle, currently with the Tampa Bay Lightning, be part of the solution?

The Latest:

The 31 year old defender was a healthy scratch for Bolts on Saturday night when they fell 3-1 to the Boston Bruins. According to reports, the Bolts are looking to move the defender, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune had a piece up on this over the weekend, you can read it here.

Basically, Carle has struggled early this season and may need a change of scenery while Tampa is looking to create some cap space in order to re-sign Steven Stamkos.

The Boxcars:

Carle has zero points in 12 games this season, a nightmare start no doubt. Last season, he scored 18 points in 59 games, adding another three points in the playoffs. In 2013-14, Carle had 31 points in 82 games, solid production from the back end on a team with some real offensive talent.

The Scouting Report:

I love The Hockey News’ scouting reports, I use them all the time. Here is their write up on Carle, you can read the whole thing here.

Assets:	Skates very well and is usually in sound position on the ice. Makes a very good first pass out of his own end. Has solid offensive instincts. Can jump up into the play well. Can log a ton of minutes.
Flaws:	Isn’t as effective in physical contests as he is when the game is more passive. Can occasionally make a critical blunder in the defensive zone when pressured with the puck. Lacks a bit of consistency.
Career Potential:	Mobile big-minute defenseman.

The Oilers lack a good skating defender who is sound in his position and who can make a good first pass. Those are the assets of Carle which makes him an extremely appealing option for Edmonton’s issues on the blueline. Carle shows here as a big minute defender who has good offensive instincts. He cloud flourish with the Oilers.

HERO Chart:

Carle shows here as being able to handle big minutes while producing at a top-four clip in terms of points. That’s a valuable player. Edmonton needs a defender that can create some offense and Carle appears to be a player that can do just that.

Final Thoughts:

Tampa needs to clear some cap space so I can easily see them moving Carle in the near future. His contract situation isn’t pretty, he makes $5.5 million on the cap for two more seasons. That would fall in line with Connor McDavid’s ELC expiring, so if Edmonton truly had an interest they could make this work.

As for a price? I think getting the contract off the books is the big play for Tampa here. I could see a draft pick and a contract going the other way, say Andrew Ference or Nikita Nikitin to balance a little cap for this season.