• March 29, 2024

Should The Flyers Pursue Ryan Suter or Resign Matt Carle?

The Philadelphia Flyers need help on defense, especially with the unknown status of captain Chris Pronger.

If they want to make a big splash and get an elite defenseman, they could go out in free agency and sign Ryan Suter.  Or they could make a subtle move and resign Matt Carle while also acquiring a depth defenseman.

I was one of those people who thought the Flyers should dump Carle, and do whatever it took to sign Suter.  That is, until I took a look at statistics and noticed how similar they were.  Now, I’ll take Carle over Suter.

They are both 27-years-old and started their NHL careers in 2005.  Suter has played in more regular season games, but Carle has more playoff experience.

Last season, Suter played in 79 regular season games and registered a career-high 46 points and was a plus 15, while Carle played in all 82 games for the Flyers, tallying 38 points and was a plus four.   In the playoffs, Carle played 11 games, had six total points and was a minus three.  Suter played in 10 games has four points, and was a minus three.

Carle has played in every regular season game for the past two seasons for the Flyers.  The last time he missed any playing time during the regular season was in 2009-2010.  The last time that Suter actually played a full 82 games in the regular season was during the 2009-2010 season.

Suter is usually paired against the opposing team’s top line during the course of a game.  He also plays the point on the power play unit, kills penalties and eats up a ton of ice time per game.  Carle is usually part of the Flyers second defensive pairing, plays on the power play, at even strength, but he usually doesn’t kill penalties.

If the Flyers signed Suter, they’d also bring his leadership into the locker room, but Carle brings familiarity.  Carle has also played with the Flyers other top defensemen, so he knows their style of play; whereas, Suter would have to get used to playing with whomever his defensive partner would be.  Suter can give you points on the blue line, but Carle is more familiar with the style both of his goaltenders like to play.

Suter’s decision rests on what his family wants, so the Nashville Predators have the upper hand there.  Carle will most likely take less years and less money to sign.  Suter’s contract would likely be around six years for anywhere between $6 million to $7.5 million per season.  Carle might take a four year contract worth $4 million to $4.5 million per season.

The only real downside to signing Carle is that he tends to turn the puck over during key moments of games and those turnovers have a tendency to lead to big goals for the opposing team.

Even with the turnovers, here’s to hoping Matt Carle is in orange and black next season.

Kate Formica

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DCar
DCar
June 6, 2012 11:09 am

Kate, good article. That’s the same thing I’ve been saying. Everyone is going googly gaa gaa over Suter. Carle stinks, is a TO machine & Suter is basically him, with less TO’s, & is a little more physicaly involved. I don’t want Carle back, & for sure ain’t wasting $6.5M- $7M PER, for Suter. He’s a product of playing with a stud like Weber, as Carle was with Pronger. WEBER, now that’s the guy, that they need to go all in for. They also need to sign Justin Schultz, & rehas the trade of JVR for Luke Schenn. We need more than 2 quality defensemen, this off-season. Pronger is basically done, Timonen needs to be replaced, very shortly too, & Carle needs to go. This is after, already needing a top defensemen. Homer needs to make over this DF corp, like he did with the forwards last year. No ifs, &’s, or buts. They need alot more, than overpaid, lateral moves.

numberoneeaglesfan
numberoneeaglesfan
June 6, 2012 4:53 pm

That was a ridiculous article. The whole thing outlines all the reasons why Suter is a major upgrade and points out all the flaws in Carle’s game. How can you reason that the Flyers should keep Carle after that?

paulman
paulman
June 6, 2012 6:14 pm

I think Kate’s main point was that there was not much difference in Stats between what Suter did, compared to what Carle has done with the Flyers,. Then you look at Suter will probably command a higher salary and then has to get adjusted to a new team,city,fan base, etc,etc and the fact that Carle has missed very few games while Suter has misssed some games every season since 2009 .. So when Kate lays it all out on the table, why not just keep Carle is what I got out of her article which makes sensse to me…

DCar
DCar
June 7, 2012 6:39 am

Reading comprehension, at it’s best, once again, on GCobb site. I repeat what Paul said. JEESH!!!

There Will Be PaulMan
There Will Be PaulMan
June 7, 2012 11:36 am

Anyone that would choose Carle over Suter for any reason needs to have their head examined, especially when they use stats to support their entire viewpoint. Stats are meant to support what you see in the context of a players career, not the definitive measure of a player.

Dcar, you crap on Suter but want to trade JVR for Luke Schenn? Are you talking about the Luke Schenn that was demoted to the TMLs 6th d-man and barely saw any ice time? I am not against exploring trades for JVR, but trading him for Luke Schenn is really bad return. Shultz is a complete wildcard because every team in the NHL will pay him the ELC max, therefore, he can pick whatever team he wants.

Suter/ Mez
Coburn/Grossman
Timonen — Bourdon / Gustafsson / Manning

I believe that Timonen comes off the books after this coming season (freeing up over 6mill/yr), but to have the luxury of him anchoring your third pairing for a year is insane. Maybe by cutting down his IT he could sign a couple of consecutive 1yr contracts and be highly effective.

paulman
paulman
June 7, 2012 11:48 am

I would keep JVR, I think he has a lot of upside even though his 2012 Season was not as productive as everyone hoped due to lot of injuries.. but I would not give up on him yet.. He has a bright future in the NHL..

DCar
DCar
June 9, 2012 5:19 am

TWBP, Suter is a better version of Carle, IS NOT, & I repeat, IS NOT WORTH $6M-$7M a year, he is going to receive. Also, his blueline partner, is arguably the best defenseman, in the NHL. Luke Schenn is a very good, young DF prospect, who could fit right in here. The only reason he was demoted, was because of his lack of discipline & Toronto’s on going idiocy, on how to run an NHL team. JVR sucks, is the most overrated player on this team, & he would have already been traded for Schenn, if he had not gotten his concussion. The trade was reportedly, already worked out, by several sources. Schenn was scratched that night, but JVR’s concussion put the kabosh on it. We have great, young, forward depth, & JVR is expedable. We need good, young defensemen, with upside. Guys like Schenn, Schultz & Garrison, don’t come along, everyday. Pronger is done. Timonen is right behind him. Carle isn’t worth bringing back, at what he brings to the table, unless he excepts a team friendly contract. Coburn is way overpaid, & overrated. This DF, needs to be overhauled, just like the forwards were last year. Those are all facts my friend, & if you don’t know that, you don’t know anything about hockey. We aren’t winning a Stanley Cup with this current DF Corp & we are still a young, up & coming, rebuilding team, & to complete the rebuild, the DF needs an overhaul, not lateral movements, tweeks, & minor upgrades. Stop overvaluing & overrated, our players & under-achievers. Don’t give me any lame @$$, injury excuses either. JVR was taken 2nd in the draft, & has done nothing to warrant his contract. He had a good 2 week run in the playoffs 2 years ago, & that’s it. He is close to being a bust, so if you can get a Schenn & maybe a young forward with some upside, that would be a steal, especially with JVR’s injuries. Especially already having a concussion history.