Flyers sign Carter to 3-year deal

Jeff Carter didn't want to leave, and the Flyers wanted him to stay, so yesterday the club signed the center to a three-year contract worth a reported $15 million.

Carter would have become a restricted free agent on Tuesday.

"We've kind of had this in place, for the most part, for a while," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "It just made sense to do it now. Jeff knows we wanted him back, and he knows he wanted to be back.

"Jeff is a terrific young player who has come up through our organization, and we believe that he is only going to get better," Holmgren said. "It is a priority for us to keep our core of young players intact, and signing Jeff allows us to do that."

Carter, 23, recorded 29 goals and 24 assists for 53 points with 55 penalty minutes in 82 games for the Flyers last season.

He was the only Flyer to play all 82 regular-season games and all 17 playoff games in 2007-08. He led the team with 260 shots while finishing tied for second in goals. He was third in game-winning goals with five. His 29 goals and 53 points were career highs.

"I'm definitely happy," said Carter, who spoke via conference call from his home in London, Ontario. "I think I said from day one that I didn't want to go anywhere. I'm very excited to be staying in Philadelphia.

"We have great group of guys on this team, and I can't wait to get back on the ice and continue where we left off last season," he said.

As the Flyers made their run to the Eastern Conference finals, Carter scored six goals and added five assists for 11 points in the 17 playoff games.

"I thought I played a better second half of the playoffs and that maybe helped me a bit," he said about getting the new contract. "But I didn't want to worry about it too much during the season and the playoffs."

In 225 career regular-season games over three NHL seasons, Carter has 66 goals and 132 points. He has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 23 Stanley Cup playoff games.

The Flyers drafted Carter in the first round in 2003, making him the 11th pick overall.