The Philadelphia Flyers have locked up Jeff Carter for what could very well be the rest of his career. The 25-year-old forward signed an 11-year, $58 million deal today that will keep him in Philadelphia until he's 37. He will carry an annual cap hit of $5.27 million, which is actually less than what Mike Richards, Danny Briere, and Kimmo Timonen are making. The $5.27 million is only a bit more than the $5 million he's already making this season.
Carter was set to be a restricted free agent next summer and had been the subject of a ton of trade speculation. Carter, who was the Flyers first round pick in 2003, has 153 goals in his NHL career including 79 in the past two seasons. So far this season, he's tied for a team high eight goals.
It's been a pretty good week for Carter, who scored a hat trick two nights ago and gets himself a brand new $58 million deal today.
This is the second major extension the Flyers have handed out this week. On Monday, they signed Claude Giroux to a new 3-year deal. The next Flyer likely in line for an extension is likely Ville Leino, who starred in the postseason last year and is due to be an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The two sides are reportedly already talking about a deal.