Jimmy Carson

James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968, in Southfield, Michigan) is a retired American professional 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.

Playing career
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, as it was no secret that he hated living there, and could not handle the pressure of being the guy 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 1992, playing with Gretzky for two seasons. He later played for the Vancouver Canucks and the Hartford Whalers, where he ended his NHL career in 1996.

Achievements

 * Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1987.
 * NHL single-season record for games played with 86, 1992–93 (Shared with Bob Kudelski)

Career statistics
--- Regular season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    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   12   10   22   14  18   5   4   9   2 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings           NHL    25    4    7   11    2  --  --  --  --  -- 1993-94 Vancouver Canucks           NHL    34    7   10   17   22   2   0   1   1   0 1994-95 Hartford Whalers            NHL    38    9   10   19   29  --  --  --  --  -- 1995-96 Lausanne                    Swiss  13    3    4    7   14 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