Carter's agent: Holmgren lied
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- If you have been looking for a reason, aside from sheer disappointment, that Jeff Carter has yet to publicly address his stunning trade to Columbus on Thursday, listen to his agent.
Carter's agent: Holmgren lied
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- If you have been looking for a reason, aside from sheer disappointment, that Jeff Carter has yet to publicly address his stunning trade to Columbus on Thursday, listen to his agent.
Carter’s agent, Philadelphia based Rick Curran, told the Columbus Dispatch on Friday that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren lied to Carter earlier in the week in a face-to-face meeting.
“He is disappointed,” Curran said on Friday morning in the Minneapolis Hilton lobby. “But that’s no reflection of Columbus. It’s more that he made a commitment to Philadelphia.”
Curran said that commitment started three years ago when his client was presented with an offer sheet when he was a restricted free agent. Carter declined.
“He had the opportunity to go somewhere on an offer sheet,” Curran said. “The Flyers told him that he would be one of their cornerstone players.”
Then, last November, in the final year of his 3-year, $15 million deal, the Flyers approached Carter to sign a long-term deal.
“They said that they would need some help on the AAV [average annual value] of the deal [a longer deal to produce a lower cap number],” Curran said. “He said that he liked it here [in Philadelphia] and liked his teammates. He said that if they wanted him, he would make the commitment.”
Carter, 26, inked an 11-year, $58 million deal on Nov. 13, 2010. He surely could have earned more on the open market. Instead, Carter did what he could to stay in Philly.
Last summer, he purchased a new beach house in Sea Isle City, N.J., fully expecting to be in the area for the duration of his career. That all changed on Thursday, when his life was turned upside down on Friday.
His no-trade clause was set to kick in on July 1, 2012.
The shocking part is that Carter and Holmgren met face-to-face earlier in the week, to discuss the apparent rumors, and Holmgren re-assured Carter he was not being moved.
Carter had long been discussed as an option for the Flyers to move once they acquired Ilya Bryzgalov’s rights on June 7. It was apparent that they would need to move a significant chunk of salary in order to sign the free agent goaltender. Carter’s cap number was the only fit.
“Jeff called me and asked about the rumors two weeks ago,” Curran said. “He figured teams were asking about him anyways. I called Paul and I asked him if this is something we should be concerned about.
“Paul assured me that there was nothing to worry about, that they weren’t interested in trading Jeff. He told me that Jeff could come in and meet with him to tell him the same things. And he did. He assured him that they weren’t trading him.”
Rumored or not, you can imagine Carter’s shock when he heard about the trade on Thursday.
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Oh well. That's too bad. Carter rec'd an abundant amount of financial security in his long term contract. I am not so sure he would have rec'd much great return on the open market. He is a good player, but far from great.
@howard32, the team is one of the best run teams in the NHL, and since you obviously are not a Flyers fan, your opinion holds little value or substance.— LGbalsac- OVERRATED AND UNDERPERFORMED! BOO HOO
— Batt13 - Sign Carter to an 11 year deal and then trade him to Columbus?
Yeah, I don't blame the agent or Carter for being upset about that.— phillydude - This is a business, sports is in the entertainment business. What was said at the negotiation table are all business and tactical. Jeff's agents knows this and is playing naive thinking that there is truly a commitment between Jeff and Flyers. Honestly, did Jeff and his agent he was going to be here for 11 years? Get real. If anything, Jeff should blame his agent for not putting something into the contract to protect Jeff from this.— penncrow19
Comment removed.- Wah, Wah...I have to move somewhere else to get payed millions for playing a game, poor me, poooooooor me.....— TexasYankee
- Thats business sometimes.. It's a shame if he was lied to and all but ohh well it happens! Lies are what this country runs on anyway... Atleast Carter and Richards aren't on the unemployment line with uncertainty in life.. Their set for the rest of their lives with millions in the bank while millions are out of work and trying to make ends meet.. Really nothing to complain about from any of them!— bfranklin
- The Flyers overated and overpaid both these crybabies. It's a business, deal with hit..Columbus..oh my..— FLYGUY31
- Hello.........Liars.........not Flyers......who care's.... you see you need balance in any sport...it's a long way to next years playoff's......I just hope the fans will be happy, it's all about the FANS...— merchandiser
- Then I guess the nine years given to Bryzgalov means nothing too...— echosmyron
- Comment removed.
- I am not condoning the party lifestyle of Richards, Carter, Upshall, and Lupul but I think its funny that the Flyers management shipped these guys out, however those beloved broad street bullies partied all the time. It just seems a little hypocritical.
The main reason they won the Cups was Bernie Parent. If they had the 70s equivalent of Leighton or Boucher, they would have never even gotten to a Cup Final let alone win two.
— sulshawn - Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Maybe if he showed up in the playoffs and didn't have long streaks where he was just plain invisible there would have been a different outcome. Bottom line is 17 and 18 had plenty of opportunity to win, money was spent on them to win, the team was literally built around them and they didn't. The window to win is closing and we're faced with going in a different direction or crossing our fingers for more of the same. It's a business first and the trade is a hard pill to swallow but in the end the Flyers got a great return and this team will be fine. Enjoy Ohio, Carter. At least Richards still has the beach but I hope he learns some espanol pronto, and the cost of living is WAY HIGHER in LA than Philly. Enjoy. Go Flyers!— Kanayd
