Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

John Carlson

Capitals Unlikely To Hold Offseason Extension Talks With John Carlson

at CDT | by 2 Comments

When the Capitals signed Jakob Chychrun to a massive eight-year, $72MM extension in March, most thought he’d been locked in as their succession plan to John Carlson as the team’s No. 1 defenseman. That appears to be the case, as Capitals general manager Chris Patrick told reporters today they’re in no rush to begin extension talks with Carlson as he enters the final season of his deal, the AP’s Stephen Whyno relays.

Carlson will be 37 years old in the summer of 2026 after wrapping up the eight-year, $64MM extension he signed following Washington’s Stanley Cup win in 2018. He’s coming off another strong offensive campaign en route to a regular-season conference crown for the Caps, leading Washington defensemen and ranking seventh on the team in points with a 5-46–51 scoring line in 79 games.

But the two-time All-Star and the 2020 Norris Trophy runner-up still isn’t producing anywhere near his 2018-2022 peak, during which he averaged 0.91 points per game. While still a legitimate top-four threat, there’s understandable hesitancy about continuing to bill him as their leader in ice time among rearguards as the offensive-minded Carlson enters his 17th NHL season, all with Washington.

It’s likely the Caps remain intent on extending Carlson as long as he’s willing and effective, but they’ll want to get a glimpse of what he looks like to kick off the 2025-26 season before zeroing in on the money and term they’re willing to offer him. Patrick got a ton of long-term business done during the season, but they still have Martin Fehervary and Connor McMichael on expiring deals and due considerable raises when Carlson’s deal is up in the summer of 2026. Alex Ovechkin’s deal is up then as well, but he’ll presumably either retire or re-sign at a significantly lower price than his current $9.5MM cap hit.

Holding off on a Carlson deal allows the Caps a bit more peace of mind when making moves this summer too – they won’t limit their longer-term cap space when considering trade pickups or free agent signings. Regardless, their ability to be major players in free agency without some unanticipated pre-July 1 trades will be limited. They’ve got nearly their entire roster fleshed out for next season already with 21 of 23 roster spots filled. They do have $8.6MM to burn on those two spots, though.

Regardless, expect some of Carlson’s minutes (23:34 ATOI in 2024-25) to be shifted to Chychrun (21:04 ATOI) next season as the transition begins. It’s also worth noting that the Chychrun-Carlson pairing fared the worst defensively out of any Capitals regular defense pairing this year, allowing 2.85 expected goals against per 60 minutes (according to MoneyPuck).

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

John Carlson’s Resurgence Driving Capitals’ Hot Start

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Capitals have been in no man’s land for the past few seasons. Their record has steadily regressed as Alex Ovechkin continues to chase Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, a mark he’ll likely hit this season. In 2023, they missed the playoffs entirely for the first time in nine years, and they’ve yet to win a postseason series since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Washington got back into the playoff picture last season, but most viewed it as a mirage – and rightfully so. The team’s 40-31-11 record translated to 91 points, which would have kept them seven out of a berth in the Western Conference. They also squeaked in with an astonishing -37 goal differential, a bottom-five offense, and below-league-average 5-on-5 analytics and special teams. Put nicely, it was a fluke. Unsurprisingly, they were outscored 15-7 by the Rangers in the first round and exited without a win.

But entering Saturday’s games, the Caps had a 7-2-0 record and a .778 points percentage, tied with the Hurricanes for the best in the East. Last year’s sputtering offense has suddenly come alive, averaging 4.11 goals per game. At the time of writing, they’re set to improve that total after a six-goal effort in the first half of their game against the Blue Jackets.

Nearly every red flag from last season’s showing has been erased as they enter their second season with Spencer Carbery as head coach. They’ve been a legitimately dominant force at even strength. Heading into the weekend, the Caps’ 54.6 CF% at 5-on-5 was fourth in the league, as was their 55.4 SCF%. Their 55.3% share of high-danger chances at 5-on-5 was seventh.

Ovechkin (5 G, 5 A) and center Dylan Strome, who leads the club with 10 assists and 13 points, have the flashiest point totals. However, chugging along on the back end is John Carlson, who, despite turning 35 in a couple of months, is arguably having the best start of his career in terms of two-way play.

Carlson has remained a minute muncher in his twilight years. Last year, he led the league in average time on ice at 25:54 per game. Washington made a concerted effort to get him more help this offseason, swapping Nick Jensen for Jakob Chychrun and inking top-four fixture Matt Roy in free agency. Roy’s acquisition was mainly targeted to relieve Carlson’s workload as a much-improved No. 2 right-shot option, but he’s been out since the season opener with a lower-body injury.

That hasn’t affected Carlson in the slightest. He’s averaging a whopping 26:25 per game, still leading the league while posting the best possession metrics of his life. His newfound ability to control possession at even strength is arguably the most significant impetus behind Washington’s early-season success. The Caps control 57% of shot attempts at even strength with Carlson on the ice compared to 51.5% without him. The Capitals lifer has never had that much of an impact on Washington’s even-strength possession control in his 16-year career. He’s had a fair amount of seasons, especially early in his career, where he was a drain on their 5-on-5 possession play. Overall, his numbers have been about in line with the Capitals’ team averages.

He’s also turned back the clock offensively with a pair of goals and six assists for eight points in nine games. After continuing to hover near a point per game in the early days of the post-COVID era, he was limited to 0.66 points per game over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. That’s led to him not receiving even any outside Norris Trophy consideration after finishing no lower than 12th in five straight years from 2018 to 2022. His +11 rating is also tied with the Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb and the Lightning’s J.J. Moser for the league lead. Most of that point production has come at even strength, too, with only one each of those goals and assists coming on the power play.

At least so far, all those advanced numbers point to Carlson’s resurgence as sustainable, at least for this season. He also ranks fourth on the team in blocks (14), seventh in hits (14), and is tied with Chychrun for the team lead with seven takeaways.

His re-emergence as a top-flight defenseman also leads to a rarity for Washington – the last couple of years of a max-term extension being worth face value. Carlson is still locked in at $8MM against the cap through the 2025-26 season. It was a contract that gave Washington great value through the first couple of years but started to look dicey at the midway point, a commonality with long-term pacts. But his early-season showing suggests he’s still worth that money, if not more, in terms of market value.

While the Capitals’ roster has been rejuvenated with some newly drafted and developed talent, it’s still an excellent story for a member of the old guard to be a legitimate factor in the team’s on-ice success as the franchise turns the page. Carlson owns nearly every franchise record among defenders. He’s the only D-man to play over 1,000 career games in a Capitals uniform, and he also owns team records for career goals (153), assists (529), points (682), and shots (2,375) among defenders.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Nominees Announced For 2023 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association has voted on the award since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2023.

Past winners of the award include Carey Price (2022), Oskar Lindblom (2021), Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), and Jaromir Jagr (2016).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Jakob Silfverberg

Arizona Coyotes – Clayton Keller

Boston Bruins – Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres – Craig Anderson

Calgary Flames – Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Martinook

Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Stalock

Colorado Avalanche – Andrew Cogliano

Columbus Blue Jackets – Boone Jenner

Dallas Stars – Jamie Benn

Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri

Edmonton Oilers – Derek Ryan

Florida Panthers – Patric Hornqvist

Los Angeles Kings – Pheonix Copley

Minnesota Wild – Mason Shaw

Montreal Canadiens – Alex Belzile

Nashville Predators – Cody Glass

New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton

New York Islanders – Zach Parise

New York Rangers – Jimmy Vesey

Ottawa Senators – Derick Brassard

Philadelphia Flyers – Nick Seeler

Pittsburgh Penguins – Kris Letang

San Jose Sharks – Nikolai Knyzhov

Seattle Kraken – Brandon Tanev

St. Louis Blues – Sammy Blais

Tampa Bay Lightning – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Toronto Maple Leafs – Mark Giordano

Vancouver Canucks – Brock Boeser

Vegas Golden Knights – Phil Kessel

Washington Capitals – John Carlson

Winnipeg Jets – Sam Gagner

John Carlson Expected To Return For Washington Capitals

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The time has come. After nearly half a season on injured reserve, John Carlson will be back in the Washington Capitals lineup tonight. To make room to activate him from LTIR, the Capitals have loaned Zachary Fucale and Gabriel Carlsson to the AHL.

Carlson missed 36 games after taking a Brenden Dillon slapshot to the head in late December. The veteran defenseman suffered a fractured skull, and was ruled out indefinitely. As the Capitals pointed out in their announcement today, things may have gone very differently had Carlson not been sidelined for so long.

In the 30 games he did play, the team went 18-10-2, a winning percentage that would have them securely in the playoff picture had it continued all year. Instead, the Capitals sit six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wildcard spot with just ten games to play.

While it isn’t over just yet, Washington essentially threw in the towel at the trade deadline, by sending Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson, Erik Gustafsson, and Lars Eller to contending clubs in exchange for (mostly) draft picks. Carlson’s return likely won’t be enough to get them to the playoffs this season, but it will be good to see him back on the ice taking part in an NHL game after such a scary injury.

Unless he does something spectacular in the next few weeks, Carlson will likely miss the Norris Trophy ballot for the first time since 2017. He finished in the top 12 in each of the last five years, including a second-place spot in 2020. A full season in 2022-23 will be a huge step toward the Capitals’ returning to the postseason.

Metro Notes: Barzal, Lindgren, Carlson, Lazar

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Islanders are currently in the first wild card positon, but it will be a dogfight till the end of the season to secure their spot in the postseason. Every game matters and there was some good news this morning as head coach Lane Lambert told reporters, including Andrew Gross of Newsday, that the team is hopeful Mathew Barzal can return before the end of the regular season.

Barzal was listed as week-to-week over a month ago and hasn’t played since his third shift on February 18. The 25-year-old forward had 51 points in 58 games when he went down to injury, and would be a huge boost for the Islanders if things do come down to the last few games of the season.

  • One of their Metropolitan Division rivals is about to get their own injury reinforcement, as Ryan Lindgren will return tonight for the New York Rangers. Lindgren hasn’t played since February 25, but returns to a Rangers team that has won four straight and is slowly closing the gap between them and the division leaders.
  • Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports that John Carlson is close to returning for the Washington Capitals, but won’t play tonight. The injured defenseman was spotted in a regular jersey for the first time yesterday and is expected to make his long-awaited return this week. Carlson has been out since suffering a skull fracture back in December.
  • The New Jersey Devils will be without Curtis Lazar for the next little while, as head coach Lindy Ruff explained he will “miss some time” with a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old forward was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks at the deadline and has yet to register a point in three games with the Devils.

Injury Updates: Carlson, Acciari, Forbort

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Capitals defenseman John Carlson revealed to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription link) that the upper-body injury that has kept him out close to three months was a small skull fracture above his right ear and a severed temporal artery.  Back in January, his ear had to be partially reattached, likely due to that severed artery.  The veteran has started skating and is believed to be targeting Thursday’s game against Chicago as a potential return date.  Carlson’s absence has played a big role in Washington’s decline this season and while his suiting up won’t change their fortunes now, it’ll still be important for him to get back and show that he has indeed fully recovered.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Maple Leafs forward Noel Acciari won’t play tonight against Ottawa, relays NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy (Twitter link). He suffered an injury on Friday against Carolina on a hit from Jesse Puljujarvi and did not return with head coach Sheldon Keefe indicating the 31-year-old wouldn’t be accompanying Toronto on the road.  Acciari has three goals in 13 games with Toronto since being acquired from St. Louis last month while chipping in with 43 hits in a little under 13 minutes per contest.
  • The Bruins are likely to be without blueliner Derek Forbort for both games this weekend. Head coach Jim Montgomery indicated after practice yesterday (video link) that the veteran went for more imaging on Friday with the team awaiting the results.  Connor Clifton is expected to suit up in Forbort’s spot today while Jakub Zboril appears to be targeted for that spot in the lineup on Sunday.  Forbort has a dozen points in 54 games so far this season while chipping in with 106 hits and 88 blocked shots.

Injury Notes: Fabbri, Carlson, Hurricanes

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

More than just Detroit Red Wings fans cringed when they saw Robby Fabbri limp off the ice last night with a lower-body injury. The 27-year-old has been through multiple major knee surgeries in his career, but keeps coming back and showing that he can contribute at the NHL level on reconstructed ACLs.

When he missed practice today, it seemed like it might be bad news for the talented winger, but head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters that Fabbri is only out day-to-day. The Red Wings will be cautious for obvious reasons, but the team is optimistic that he avoided a serious injury.

  • John Carlson was on the ice again today for the Washington Capitals, as he continues to recover from the head injury he suffered earlier this season. Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports that the defenseman joined the scratches’ skate, albeit in a non-contact sweater. A more significant update is still expected in the next few days.
  • It’s finger-crossing days for the Carolina Hurricanes, who will have to hope their goaltending depth will stay healthy through a playoff run this time. Today, head coach Rod Brind’Amour explained that the team is hopeful the recent injury to Antti Raanta is “not too serious” but couldn’t give a more specific timeline. Jalen Chatfield, meanwhile, is getting evaluated today and is expected to miss some time.

Snapshots: Carlson, Gibson, Hartman

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Washington Capitals’ status as a conservative seller at the deadline may have surprised fans just a few months ago. A relatively secure Wild Card position in late 2022 has since fallen by the wayside, mainly due to injuries to key players.

Their longest-term absence has been that of defenseman John Carlson, who hasn’t played since December 23 after taking a slapshot to the head in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Head coach Peter Laviolette had some positive news to share today regarding the All-Star defenseman, who joined Capitals practice today wearing a non-contact jersey. While Washington won’t be making a playoff run this year, barring a miracle, a return to health is positive news for Carlson after such a scary injury. The 33-year-old is under contract until 2026 and had 21 points in 30 games this year before exiting the lineup.

  • The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun today speculated on the future of goalie John Gibson with the Anaheim Ducks, whose name has begun to creep into trade speculation over the past months. LeBrun noted that some teams still view the netminder as a difference-maker, especially with the 29-year-old posting a string of elite performances lately. After this season, Gibson still has four years remaining on a contract carrying a $6.4MM cap hit. A move to a contender, especially as Gibson has partial trade protection, likely hinges on the Ducks retaining some salary.
  • According to a Twitter announcement, Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman was fined $4,594.59 today by the NHL Department of Player Safety for slashing Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The figure is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Hartman received a minor penalty on the play, which occurred in the middle of the first period of last night’s 1-0 shootout loss to the Flames.

Snapshots: Carlson, Giuttari, Murray

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Washington Capitals already moved several pieces off the roster and essentially waved the white flag on this season. One reason why is the status of John Carlson, who hasn’t played since taking a slapshot to the head on December 23. Today, general manager Brian MacLellan revealed to reporters, including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, that Carlson won’t be able to think about returning until late March.

The Capitals have just six games in April before the playoffs are set to begin, meaning Carlson likely isn’t going to play a significant role for the rest of this season. That may be the biggest reason why the group has struggled, given how important he is at both ends of the rink. While not considered an elite defensive player, he is critical for Washington’s breakouts and plays more than 23 minutes every night when healthy. Hopefully, healthy describes next season, when he’ll try to get Washington back to the postseason.

  • We know what the future considerations are in the New York Rangers-Vancouver Canucks trade from earlier today. While the Rangers got Wyatt Kalynuk in the NHL portion of the deal, the Abbotsford Canucks landed Zach Giuttari separately. Players on minor league contracts can’t be included in NHL transactions, so they had to be two different trades. The 26-year-old defenseman has ten points in 43 games this season for Hartford.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to activate Matt Murray ahead of tomorrow night’s game, and start him against the Vancouver Canucks. The team left themselves just enough room to bring the injured goaltender back from long-term injured reserve and sign prospect Matthew Knies at the end of his college season—should he decide to turn pro. Murray hasn’t played since January 17, and has a .911 save percentge on the year.

Metropolitan Notes: Carlson, Vesey, Clutterbuck

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Capitals will be without defenseman John Carlson for an extended period of time as Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that his recovery timeline is a matter of months, not weeks.  He took a slap shot to the side of the head just before the holiday break and was subsequently moved to injured reserve.  Notably, the extended absence will allow them to place Carlson on LTIR which will make it considerably easier to activate Nicklas Backstrom when the veteran center is ready to return.  However, Carlson is expected to return this season which means that Washington won’t be able to spend any of his cap hit on external replacements as they’ll need to get back into cap compliance when he’s cleared to return.  His loss will be a big one for the Caps as Carlson has 21 points in 30 games this season while logging more than 23 minutes a night, a role that’s difficult to fill internally.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • It took a PTO for Jimmy Vesey to eventually land a contract with the Rangers but now that he’s eligible to sign an extension, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that they’d be wise to try to sign the winger to a new deal now. The 29-year-old has six goals and six assists in 37 games this season and has largely played on the top three lines for the bulk of the year.  Knowing that Vesey has gone through the PTO route for two straight years, it’s possible that he’d be amenable to an early extension, one that would give him a bit of stability at a price tag that likely wouldn’t be much higher than the league minimum.
  • The Islanders are hopeful that winger Cal Clutterbuck will be able to return to the lineup tomorrow against Vancouver, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). The 35-year-old returned from an upper-body injury last month only to sustain another upper-body issue soon after as he landed on injured reserve once again a week later.  Clutterbuck has five points and 98 hits in 26 games so far this season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top