| Matt Carle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 25, 1984 Anchorage, Alaska |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team F. teams |
Tampa Bay Lightning San Jose Sharks Philadelphia Flyers |
| Ntl. team |  United States
|
| NHL Draft | 47th overall, 2003 San Jose Sharks |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
Matt Carle (born Matthew Carle on September 25, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing Career[]
Matt was drafted in the second round (47th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks.
As an all-American star player at the University of Denver, he won the Hobey Baker Award in 2006 emblematic of America's top college hockey player as the only junior defenseman in history to win the award.
To convince Matt to forgo his senior year at University of Denver (as well as acknowledge his 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 the NHL CBA.
The contract (which is a two-way deal) includes $942,000 in annual salary as well as a $1.25 million signing bonus.
During Matt's first full season with the Sharks in 2006–07, he scored 11 goals and 31 assists in 77 games and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.
In November of 2007, he signed a four-year, $13.75 million contract extension with San Jose.
On July 4, 2008, Matt was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Ty Wishart and San Jose's first-round choice (which was later traded to the Ottawa Senators, then to the New York Islanders which was later traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets which was traded to the Anaheim Ducks who selected Kyle Palmeri) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft & San Jose's fourth-round choice (James Mullin) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft for Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich.
On November 7, 2008 (twelve games into Tampa Bay's season), he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers with San Jose's third-round choice (which was previously acquired & the Philadelphia Flyers selected Simon Bertilsson) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft for Steve Eminger, Steve Downie and Tampa Bay's fourth-round choice (which was previously acquired & the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Alex Hutchings) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing most of the year with Braydon Coburn, Matt scored 4 goals and 20 assists and finished +2 in 64 games for the Flyers. During the season, he also missed 5 games at the start of December with a rib injury.
He got a new defense partner when the Flyers traded for Chris Pronger at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. They immediately clicked in training camp and started production early in the season.
The Flyers home opener of the 2009–10 season saw Matt tie the NHL record for assists in a single period by a defenceman as he set up four goals in the second period against the Washington Capitals, helping Mike Richards reach his second career hat trick which is also his personal best for assists in a game.
After four seasons, he returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent, signing a six-year contract worth $33 million total.
Career Statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | US National Team Development Program | NAHL | 55 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | US National Team Development Program | NAHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | US National Team Development Program | USHL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | River City Lancers | USHL | 59 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 98 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | ||
| 2003–04 | Denver Pioneers | WCHA | 30 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Denver Pioneers | WCHA | 41 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Denver Pioneers | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 519 | 37 | 187 | 224 | 171 | 84 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 28 | ||||
International Statistics[]
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | United States | WJ18 | 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 & Achievements[]
- 2003–04: WCHA All-Rookie Team
- 2004–05: NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team
- 2004–05: NCAA West First All-American Team
- 2004–05: WCHA First All-Star Team
- 2005–06: Hobey Baker Memorial Award (Top U.S. Collegiate Player)
- 2006–07: NHL All-Rookie Team
Personal Life[]
Matt's younger brother David attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's and was planning on attending the University of Denver (like his brother) before he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that has been cited in the sudden death of young athletes.
Despite David's decision to no longer play hockey, the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him in the 7th round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Matt's youngest brother, Alex is committed to play hockey for Merrimack College beginning in the fall of 2014.
After three successful seasons at Kimball Union Academy (NH), he will spend next season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL before enrolling at MC.
In 2010, Matt married his fellow University of Denver classmate Clancey Kabella. They reside in her native Minnesota in the off season.
In 2012, he appeared in the movie "This is 40" alongside Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk and Ian Laperriere.