| Jimmy Carson | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 20, 1968 Southfield, MI, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) |
| Position | Center |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | Detroit Vipers (IHL) Hartford Whalers Lausanne (Swiss) Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Edmonton Oilers |
| NHL Draft | 2nd overall, 1986 Los Angeles Kings |
| Playing career | 1986–1998 |
James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968) is a retired American professional hockey player. He is best known for his 10 year NHL career, spent with several teams. After retiring from professional hockey, he embarked on a new career as a financial advisor.
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Jimmy Carson was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft as the 2nd overall pick. He scored 37 goals as an 18 year old rookie in the 1986–87 NHL season. In just his second NHL season he notched 55 goals, and established himself as one of the sport's top young players. Along with Martin Gelinas, he was a key part of the August 9, 1988, blockbuster trade that sent them, the Kings' three first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993, and $15 million cash to the Edmonton Oilers for Wayne Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski.
Carson demanded a trade out of Edmonton in November 1989 because among other reasons he could not handle the pressure of being expected to replace Wayne Gretzky. Carson was traded to his home town of Detroit for Adam Graves, Petr Klima and Joe Murphy. These players were instrumental in helping Edmonton win their 5th Stanley Cup in 7 years in 1990.
Carson would later return to Los Angeles, in January 1993, following a trade for popular all-star defenceman Paul Coffey. He played with Gretzky and the Kings for parts of two seasons, but never regained the scoring touch he had early in his career. He later played for the Vancouver Canucks and the Hartford Whalers, where he ended his NHL career in 1996.
Carson is of Greek descent; his grandfather changed the family name from Kyriazopoulos to Carson upon emigrating to the United States.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984–85 | Verdun Junior Canadiens | QMJHL | 68 | 44 | 72 | 116 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 12 | ||
| 1985–86 | Verdun Junior Canadiens | QMJHL | 69 | 70 | 83 | 153 | 46 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 37 | 42 | 79 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1987–88 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 55 | 52 | 107 | 45 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1988–89 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 49 | 51 | 100 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1989–90 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 44 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1991–92 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 34 | 35 | 69 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 52 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 34 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 25 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Lausanne | Swiss-A | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 18 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 49 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 626 | 275 | 286 | 561 | 254 | 55 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 22 | ||||
| Preceded by Dan Gratton |
Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick 1986 |
Succeeded by Wayne McBean |