Carlson’s place in Capitals history is secure, and they will likely retire his No. 74 whenever his playing days are over. He is their all-time leader among defensemen in goals (166), assists (605), points (771), power-play points (273) and games (1,143). He also holds the their playoff records for a defenseman in goals (21), assists (57), points (78), power-play points (44) and games (137). That includes 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 24 games in 2018, when he helped Washington win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
He was also an important part of Capitals’ leadership group as an alternate captain and was integral in helping establish the winning culture that helped them qualify for the playoffs in 14 of his 16 full seasons with them.
“There’s been so many good people that have come through this organization,” said forward Tom Wilson, who was teammates with Carlson for 13 seasons. “You go right down the list since I’ve been here. Just really, really quality people. John was one of those people, and what he did for the culture in the room, it lives on. He invested a ton of pride and blood, sweat, and tears in this team, and we still feel it.
“We still have a lot of lessons that we learned from him, and it’ll be weird to play against him, but I think there’ll be some laughs, some smiles.”
After battling alongside Carlson for 17 seasons, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin also expects it to be strange to play against him for the first time.
“It’s going to be tough, but it’s a business,” Ovechkin said. “He’s a great friend, unbelievable leader. I miss this guy in the locker room.”
After going through so much with Ovechkin, Carlson acknowledged, “It will be a little bit of a weird feeling,” to line up against him.
“I think once the game starts, after the first few shifts, it will feel more normal,” he said. “I’ve played against him in the Olympics, so at least I have had that experience. But I played with those guys for a long time, put a lot of hours in on the road and friendships and all that.”
Carlson is starting to build new friendships with the Lightning and appreciates the opportunity he has with them, playing on their top defense pair and quarterbacking their first power-play unit.
“It’s been a blast so far,” he said. “It’s been fun getting into the community and all that and my kids set up in all their stuff.”
Carlson was always one of Washington’s most competitive players, even hating to lose during practice drills. His former teammates expect to see his best effort Saturday.
“He’s definitely not going to take it easy on us,” Wilson said.
Tampa Bay doesn’t play at Washington this season until March 15, but it will “probably” be more emotional because it will be his first time playing in the building he called home for so long.
“I think early on in the season, there’s a lot of stuff going too,” he said. “Everyone is kind of trying to find their footing, get used to new things, especially kind of emphasize with the shortened camp as well. So, that’s where we’re at right now.
“And that one will probably feel a lot different.”
That won’t make Carlson want to win the game Saturday any less, though, particularly with the Lightning coming off a disappointing performance in their season opener.
“We didn’t get off on the right foot, and, at the end of the day, it is a game,” he said. “I’ve played in a lot of different types of games before, meaningful and whacky and weird. So, at the end of the day, you navigate those as quickly as possible and there’s a game to be won.”
