Predators' Carrier Has to Carry Over Strong Playoff Performance Into New Contract

While the big news involving the Nashville Predators this offseason was surrounding the signings of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei, the team also managed to bring back Alexandre Carrier after he hit the open market on July 1.

Due to how long a contract took to get done and seeing how it took the two sides into free agency, there was doubt, but also hope that a deal would still get done.

Carrier has proven that he is a top-4 defenseman, but should be firmly planted on the second pairing. After his entry-level deal from 2020-2023, the Predators bridged him for one year at $2.5 million AAV to see what version of the d-man they would get.

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Carrier didn't have an amazing regular season, but did have a good one. He held his spot in the lineup and was an everyday contributor to the success of the Predators. When the playoffs came around, he stepped up even though the deeper analytics don't necessarily show it.

He was on the ice for two goals for and three against at 5-on-5 during the six games against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs, but also started 59.7% of faceoffs in the defensive zone. This also lowered Carrier's Corsi For % and expected Goals For % as well. Despite all of that, the Predators still outshot the Canucks at 5-on-5 when Carrier was on the ice.

While playing just 18:48 per game on average throughout the regular season, Carrier's ice time jumped to 21:07. He scored a goal and recorded three points during the six games on top of blocking 19 shots and having more takeaways than giveaways. His goal was a game-winner as well.

It is much harder to sustain a high level of play like what Carrier displayed in the playoffs last season, but it is a great sign and something the Predators can be hopeful of over the next three years that he's now signed for.

Carrier got a deserving raise to $3.75 million AAV which will take him to 30 years old. He is in his prime and Nashville is going to be even better than last season. With the right side of the Predators' defense being inconsistent and weaker, having Carrier step up and sustain a high level of play will be integral to the team.

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