Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Carter ya fara sana'arsa a 1996 <unk> 97, ya raba lokacinsa tare da Capitals da kuma ƙungiyarsu ta American Hockey League (AHL), Portland Pirates, kafin a yi ciniki da Boston Bruins a ranar 1 ga Maris, 1997. A matsayin wani ɓangare na yarjejeniya mai ban mamaki, an aika Carter tare da Jason Allison, Jim Carey, wanda aka zaba a cikin shirin 1998
da kuma zagaye na uku a cikin shirin 1997 zuwa Bruins a musayar Adam Oates, Bill Ranford da Rick Tocchet.