He previously played for the San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

[2] Recruited by Bowling Green State University (BGSU),[3] he spent three years in the program, finishing with 37 goals and 42 assists in 100 career games and captained the team for his final two seasons.

[11] He finished the season leading the team on points with 55 in 67 games (18 goals, 37 assists), and won the AHL's Yanick Dupre Memorial Award for community service.

[8][12] Helped by the Barracuda falling in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, Carpenter remained on the Sharks roster as a possible back-up, seeing the franchise reach the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals.

[5] In the 2017 Calder Cup playoffs, Carpenter scored a shorthanded goal to in overtime to advance past the Stockton Heat to the second round.

[21] He scored his first goal for the Golden Knights against goaltender Philipp Grubauer and have his first NHL career multi-point game, earning an assist too, in a 4–3 victory over the Washington Capitals on February 4.

[4] After playing for the Golden Knights in the franchise's first two seasons, Carpenter left as an unrestricted free agent to sign a three-year, $3 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 1, 2019.

[24] He made his Blackhawks debut in the opening game of the season, held in Prague, Czech Republic, a 4–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on October 4.

[29] He made his Flames debut in a 9–5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on March 26, centering a line between Milan Lucic and Trevor Lewis.

[30] A few weeks later, Carpenter got his first point as a Flame, assisting on Johnny Gaudreau's game-winning goal in a 3–2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on April 4, 2022.

[33] He made his Rangers debut on October 10, in a 3–1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, assisting on Barclay Goodrow's third period goal.

[38] An unrestricted free agent again, on July 1, 2023, Carpenter returned to his original club, the San Jose Sharks, signing a one-year, two-way contract.

[8] After a season within the Sharks organization, Carpenter ended his second stint with the club in signing as a free agent to a two-year AHL contract with the San Diego Gulls, primary affiliate to the Anaheim Ducks on July 2, 2024.