TAMPA — Nearly four years ago, Matt Carle was among the most sought-after defensemen on the free-agent market.
In the summer of 2012, just hours after hot commodity Ryan Suter signed with Minnesota, the Lightning swooped in to sign Carle to a six-year, $33 million deal on July 4.
Tampa Bay was in need of a reliable top-four, puck-moving defenseman, and Carle delivered an early return by averaging more than 23 minutes a game for a team in transition under general manager Steve Yzerman.
Now, the veteran blue-liner finds himself rotating in and out of the Lightning lineup as the team’s seventh defensemen, playing in a much different role than he envisioned.