Quick Facts
Biography
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.
Playing career
Amateur
Carle was drafted 47th overall in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. An all-American star player at the University of Denver with the Pioneers ice hockey team, Carle 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.
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 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.
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. In November 2007, Carle signed a four-year, $13.75 million contract extension with San Jose.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
With his offensive output dwindling and role reduced with the Lighting, 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.
On July 27, 2016, he signed a one-year, $700K deal with the Nashville Predators. In the 2016–17 season, Carle made his Predators debut on the blueline on opening night, Carle appeared in 6 games registering 1 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. Later that day, Carle announced his retirement from his 12 season career in the NHL.
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 like his older brother Matt, before later being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that has been cited in the sudden death of young athletes. Despite David Carle's decision to no longer play hockey, the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him in the seventh round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
The youngest of the Carle brothers, Alex, is committed to play hockey for Merrimack College beginning in Fall 2014. After three successful seasons of high school-level hockey at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, he will spend next season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) before enrolling at Merrimack.
Carle married fellow University of Denver classmate Clancey Kabella in 2010. 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.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| 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 | 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
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | United States | WJC18 | 01 ! | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2004 | United States | WJC | 01 ! | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2013 | United States | WC | 03 ! | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2003–04 | |
| All-WCHA First Team | 2004–05 | |
| AHCA West First-Team All-American | 2004–05 | |
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2005 | |
| All-WCHA First Team | 2005–06 | |
| AHCA West First-Team All-American | 2005–06 | |
| NHL – All- Rookie Team | 2006–07 |