Defenseman signed a three-year, $11.25 million contract extension last month to remain in Nashville.

When the Nashville Predators signed Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei on the first day of free agency, plenty of people were pleasantly surprised – including defenseman Alexandre Carrier.

“When you sign big names like that, obviously everybody expects more from you, from the team,” Carrier said Wednesday. “Last year I think people didn’t see us in the playoffs and we made it to the playoffs. So now I think expectations are going to be different.

“But as a competitor, as an athlete, that’s what you want. You want people to expect big things and you want to show up for those big moments ... I think just for the summer for myself, it motivates me even more to be on top of my game for when the first day of training camp starts and we can really continue to build what we were building last year.”

Carrier himself signed a three-year, $11.25 million contract extension to remain in Nashville before hitting the free-agent market this offseason. With the team's new free-agent additions, he believes Nashville has an even higher ceiling – which means heightened expectations.

“I didn’t know we were going to make a big splash like that in free agency,” Carrier said. “I knew we were going to have some guys, but I think it’s super exciting, super motivating for guys like me. You’re getting closer to 30, so you’re thinking, `I am halfway through my career and stuff’. So, you want to win. Every time you add guys like that with experience like this, that won Cups, it’s super exciting.”

Carrier scored a career-best four goals last season and was also an integral part of Nashville’s penalty kill unit, averaging 2:07 per game on the kill. This offseason, he is placing an emphasis on improving his offensive game.

“I want to be quicker on my edges [in the defensive zone],” Carrier said. “Another main thing I wanted to improve was my shot. I’ve been working with a guy with my shot. I was actually on the ice earlier today.

“But yeah, the main thing is just to create more offense. I take a lot of pride in defending and playing big minutes against the top line on the other side. But if I can bring more offense with my shot, [it’s] just having a mentality to shoot more and to create from the blue line.”