After the Nashville Predators signed Calle Jarnkrok to a six-year deal on Wednesday afternoon, the team announced that they have signed defenseman Matt Carle to a one-year contract worth $700,000.
Carle has spent the last four seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 31-year-old left-handed shooting blue liner is coming off of a nine point (2G, 7A) 2015-16 campaign in which he played 64 regular season games. He also had five helpers in 14 playoff games a year ago.
He played a big role on the NHL’s seven best penalty kill as he averaged 1:26 of short handed ice time per game during last season. His Corsi For per 60 at 5-on-5 play stood at 52.52 while his Corsi Allowed per 60 sat at 57.44 per Corsica.
Carle brings a veteran presence to the Nashville blue line and could certainly slide into a bottom pairing spot next to Yannick Weber on his right.
The Preds’ blue line could look like this:
Matt Carle – Yannick Weber
Petter Granberg – Anthony Bitetto
Of course, Bitetto and Granberg could see time on that bottom pairing as well. Needless to say, the cupboard is in fine shape in terms of bottom pairing guys that can slide in any given night.
The average age of the top three pairings above is 27-years-old with Carle being the oldest at the old age of 31-years-old.
Nashville, Tenn. (July 25, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the club has signed defenseman Matt Carle to a one-year, $700,000 contract.
Carle, 31 (9/25/84), is a veteran of 724 NHL contests, amassing 282 points (45g-237a) with San Jose, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. The 6-foot, 197-pound blueliner helped his club advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 with the Lightning, and with Head Coach Peter Laviolette’s Flyers in 2010. The Anchorage, Alaska, native played three seasons for Laviolette from 2009-12, posting 35 points or more each campaign, and has spent the past four seasons with Tampa Bay, most recently notching nine points (2g-7a) in 64 games in 2015-16. Carle was a 2007 NHL All-Rookie Team selection and YoungStars Game participant, posting a career-high 42 points and 11 goals during his first full season with the San Jose Sharks in 2006-07.
San Jose’s fourth selection, 47th overall (second round), in the 2003 NHL Draft held in Nashville spent three seasons at the University of Denver from 2003-06, winning national titles in 2004 and 2005, and winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player in 2006. The two-time NCAA All-American and 2003 USHL Defenseman of the Year also won gold medals at the 2002 World Under-18 Championship and 2004 World Junior Championship, as well as a bronze medal at the 2012 World Championship, where he played with Predators forward Craig Smith and was coached by Assistant Coach Phil Housley.