Ron Hextall’s first major move as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins was to send a couple of draft picks to the Los Angeles Kings for Jeff Carter.
It was a relatively safe move because Hextall had a ton of familiarity with Carter due to their time together in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, the Kings were eating a significant portion of Carter’s remaining contract over the remainder of the 2020-21 season and the entire 2021-22 season, and the asset cost was relatively low.
Given how much Carter’s production had declined in recent years expectations were low, but there was always the hope that a shift to a contender and a better offensive environment could bring back some of that goal scoring ability.