Matt Carle

Not to be confused with Mathieu Carle.

Matt Carle
Carle with the Tampa Bay Lightning in February 2013
Born	(1984-09-25) September 25, 1984 (age 40) Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	San Jose Sharks Tampa Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers Nashville Predators
National team	United States
NHL draft	47th overall, 2003 San Jose Sharks
Playing career	2005–2016

Matthew Carle (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Carle played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators. He was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the second round, 47th overall, in 2003.

Prior to turning professional, Carle played for the University of Denver where he was named NCAA Defenseman of the Year, NCAA All-American Team (West), First All-WCHA Team, USCHO First Team All American, and First Team All American. During the 2005–06 season, he also received the Hobey Baker Award as the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player.

Playing career

Carle spent his first three NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks.

Amateur

As a youth, Carle played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Alaska. ^[1]

Carle played for the River City Lancers in the USHL during the 2002–03 season. ^[2] Carle was drafted 47th overall in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. Instead of turning professional, Carle began his freshman season at the University of Denver for the 2003–04 season. ^[3]

While a freshman at the University of Denver, Carle was named to the United States roster for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won gold. He returned to Denver where he helped guide the team to the 2004 NCAA Championship title. Carle became the first United States born player to win a gold medal at the World Junior and the NCAA Championship within the same season. ^[4] He was also named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team. ^[5]

In his sophomore season, Carle helped lead the team to another NCAA Championship title and was named the 2004–05 NCAA Defenseman of the Year, NCAA All-American Team (West), First All-WCHA Team, USCHO First Team All American and First Team All American. ^[6]

In his junior year, Carle was named Denver's captain and ended the season tied third in the WCHA conference in scoring and led all defencemen. He won the Hobey Baker Award in 2006 emblematic of America's top college hockey player as the only player in University of Denver history to win the award. He was also the first player in WCHA history to be named both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year within the same season. ^[6] Carle was also again named a First Team All-American. ^[7]

Professional

To convince Carle to forgo his senior year at Denver, as well as acknowledge Carle's numerous successes, the San Jose Sharks signed Carle to a three-year deal worth approximately US $4.1 million, the maximum an entry-level contract can be worth according to under the then-terms of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The contract, a two-way deal, included $942,000 in annual salary as well as a $1.25 million signing bonus.^{[ citation needed ]}

Carle made his NHL debut, and scored his first NHL goal, on March 25, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild. ^[6] During his first full season with the Sharks in 2006–07, Carle scored 11 goals and 31 assists in 77 games and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. ^[8] In November 2007, Carle signed a four-year, $13.75 million contract extension with San Jose. ^[9]

On July 4, 2008, Carle was traded, along with Ty Wishart and a first- and fourth-draft pick in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defensemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. ^[10]

On November 7, 2008, just 12 games into Tampa Bay's season, Carle was traded with a 2009 third-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Steve Eminger, Steve Downie and a 2009 fourth-round pick. ^[11] Playing the majority of the year paired with Braydon Coburn, Carle scored four goals and 20 assists and finished with a +2 plus-minus in 64 games for the Flyers. During the season, he also missed five games at the start of December with a rib injury. ^[12]

Carle received a new defense partner when the Flyers traded for Chris Pronger at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The duo immediately established chemistry whilst in training camp and started production early in the season. The Flyers' home opener in the 2009–10 season saw Carle tie the NHL record for assists in a single period by a defenseman with four, all coming in the second period against the Washington Capitals; the amount was also a career-high for Carle. In the game, Carle's passing also helped captain Mike Richards score his second career NHL hat-trick. ^[13]

Carle with the Tampa Bay Lightning in January 2014

After four seasons with the Flyers, Carle returned to the Lightning as a free agent on July 4, 2012, signing a six-year, $33 million total. ^[14] On February 16, 2016, Carle played in his 700th career NHL game, which came in a 2–4 loss to the visiting San Jose Sharks. ^[15]

With his offensive output dwindling and role reduced with the Lightning, on June 30, 2016, after his fourth season in Tampa Bay, Carle was bought out of the remaining two-year of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. ^[16]

On July 27, 2016, he signed a one-year, $700K deal with the Nashville Predators. ^[17] In the 2016–17 season, Carle made his Predators debut on the blueline on opening night, Carle appeared in 6 games registering one assist, averaging a shade over 13 minutes before he was relegated to a healthy scratch status from October 26, 2016. On November 24, Carle was placed on waivers and upon clearing was waived unconditionally by Nashville with the intent of terminating his contract on November 25, 2016. ^[18] Later that day, Carle announced his retirement from his 12-season career in the NHL. ^[19]

In 2015, Carle was inducted into the Lancers Hall of Fame. ^[20]

Personal life

Carle's younger brother, David attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's and was initially planning on attending the University of Denver to play college ice hockey, before later being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that has been cited in the sudden death of young athletes. Despite his decision to no longer play hockey, the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him in the seventh round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. ^[21] Carle serves as the head hockey coach at the University of Denver.

The youngest of the Carle brothers, Alex, plays hockey for Merrimack College. After three successful seasons of high school-level hockey at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, he spent the next season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) before enrolling at Merrimack. ^[22]

Carle married fellow University of Denver classmate Clancey Kabella in 2010. ^[23] The couple lives in Clancey's native state of Minnesota during Carle's off-season.

In 2012, Carle appeared in the film This Is 40 alongside then-Philadelphia Flyers teammates Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk and Ian Laperrière. ^[24]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	U.S. NTDP U17	USDP		13	0	1	1			—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	U.S. NTDP U18	NAHL		55	1	4	5	33		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	U.S. NTDP Juniors	USHL		12	0	0	0	21		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	U.S. NTDP U17	USDP		7	1	2	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	U.S. NTDP U18	USDP		45	3	13	16	30		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	River City Lancers	USHL		59	12	30	42	98		11	2	2	4	20
2003–04	University of Denver	WCHA		30	5	21	26	33		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	University of Denver	WCHA		41	12	28	40	62		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	University of Denver	WCHA		39	11	42	53	58		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	San Jose Sharks	NHL		12	3	3	6	14		11	0	3	3	4
2006–07	Worcester Sharks	AHL		3	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	San Jose Sharks	NHL		77	11	31	42	30		11	2	3	5	0
2007–08	San Jose Sharks	NHL		62	2	13	15	26		11	0	1	1	4
2008–09	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		12	1	1	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		64	4	20	24	16		6	0	3	3	4
2009–10	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	6	29	35	16		23	1	12	13	8
2010–11	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		82	1	39	40	23		11	0	4	4	2
2011–12	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		82	4	34	38	36		11	2	4	6	6
2012–13	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		48	5	17	22	4		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		82	2	29	31	28		4	1	0	1	0
2014–15	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		59	4	14	18	26		25	0	3	3	4
2015–16	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		64	2	7	9	26		14	0	5	5	5
2016–17	Nashville Predators	NHL		6	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				730	45	238	283	251		127	6	38	44	36

International

Medal record
Representing the   United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2013 Sweden/Finland
World Junior Championships
	2004 Helsinki
World U18 Championships
	2002 Trnava

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002	United States	WJC18			8	0	3	3	2
2004	United States	WJC			6	1	0	1	4
2013	United States	WC			10	0	2	2	2
Junior totals					14	1	3	4	6
Senior totals					10	0	2	2	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year
College
All-WCHA Rookie Team	2003–04
All-WCHA First Team	2004–05, 2005–06
AHCA West First-Team All-American	2004–05, 2005–06
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	2005	[25]
Hobey Baker Award	2005–06
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team	2006–07	[26]

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
2. @OmahaLancers (June 3, 2015). "Good luck to 2002-03 #Lancers alum Matt Carle in the Stanley Cup Final!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. "BEFORE I MADE IT: MATT CARLE". The Hockey News. October 5, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
4. "Matt Carle Inks First NHL Contract". NHL.com. March 19, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
5. "WCHA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM" (PDF). wcha.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
6. "Sharks Matt Carle Named Hobey Baker Award Winner". NHL.com. April 7, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
7. "2005-2006 All-Americans". ahcahockey.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
8. "NHL All-Rookie Team, List". The Denver Post. June 14, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
9. "Carle, Sharks agree to four-year contract extension". ESPN.com. November 21, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
10. "Lightning trade Dan Boyle to San Jose for Matt Carle, picks". TheHockeyNews. 2008-07-04. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
11. "Flyers acquire defenseman Matt Carle". Flyers.nhl.com. 2008-11-07. Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
12. Sam Carchidi, "Flyers in rare romp; Richards another Clarke?", philly.com, 2008-12-13. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
13. Sam Carchidi, "Flyers defeat Capitals in overtime", philly.com, 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
14. "Lightning sign Carle to 6-year, $33 million contract". The Sports Network. 2012-07-04. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
15. Long, Corey (February 16, 2016). "Thornton's two assists help Sharks defeat Lightning". NHL.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
16. "Lightning buys out veteran defenseman Matt Carle contract". TampaBay.com. 2016-06-30. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
17. "Predators Sign Matt Carle to a One-Year Contract". Nashville Predators . 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
18. "Preds unconditionally waive Carle". NBC Sports. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
19. "Matt Carle retires from National Hockey League". Nashville Predators . 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
20. Lippolis, Rob (October 10, 2015). "LANCERS NAME SEVEN TO HALL OF FAME". lancers.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
21. "David Carle". denverpioneers.com. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
22. "ALEX CARLE". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
23. "SALUTE TO RETIRING MATT CARLE". letsgodu.com. November 26, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
24. "Four Flyers Bit By the Acting Bug". NHL.com. Philadelphia Flyers. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
25. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
26. Kurz, Kevin (December 14, 2019). "Marc-Edouard Vlasic's path to 1,000 games started with a remarkable, breakthrough rookie season". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024. He was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team at the conclusion, along with teammate and fellow rookie Matt Carle, who was three years older and averaged four fewer minutes per game than Vlasic.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Mark Stuart	WCHA Defensive Player of the Year 2005–06	Succeeded by Alex Goligoski
Preceded by Marty Sertich	WCHA Player of the Year 2005–06	Succeeded by Ryan Duncan
Preceded by Marty Sertich	Winner of the Hobey Baker Award 2005–06	Succeeded by Ryan Duncan