John Carlson enters the 2025-26 NHL season in the final year of an eight-year contract that he signed with the Washington Capitals in 2018.
Carlson’s contract status made him eligible for an extension on July 1 this summer, but the 35-year-old defenseman says he and the team have not yet broached the matter. Despite the potential uncertainty, Carlson isn’t worried yet about what his future with the club may hold.
“I think anybody would probably love security,” Carlson said Thursday. “I think that’s a normal thought to have, but I’m not thinking about it now.”
Given that his contract status past this year remains up in the air, Carlson was asked if the first day of training camp this year made him at all reflective about his 16 seasons with the Capitals.
“No, not really,” Carlson said. “I think obviously that’s part of life, and there’s other stuff to think about too, but I think I’ve always been pretty good at focusing on what I can control and what I can do out there. This league is tough, and a lot goes on, and I think I’ve always just kind of stayed in my lane and worried about the task that I’m worried about. I don’t think that’ll change. My mentality won’t change. And certainly just as excited as ever.”
Carlson, an alternate captain for the last six seasons, led all Capitals defensemen in scoring during the 2024-25 campaign with 51 points (5g, 46a) in 79 games and finished 22nd in the NHL in time on ice per game (23:34).
The veteran defender also posted some of the best five-on-five results of his career, seeing 54.1 percent of shot attempts, 54.2 percent of expected goals, 54 percent of scoring chances, and 53.3 percent of high-danger chances during his ice time. The Capitals scored 65 goals with Carlson over the boards, the most of any defender on the team.
Heading into his 17th career NHL season, Carlson is the Capitals’ all-time leader in games played (1,088), goals (156), assists (569), and points (725) among defensemen. Despite his importance to the franchise, Caps GM Chris Patrick reiterated his goal to keep moving the team in a more youthful direction when asked about Carlson’s contract last May.
“[Carlson] is obviously a huge part of our team and had a great season, and all expectations are he’s going to have another great season next year,” Patrick said. “It probably makes sense just to see how things play out a little bit. We’re a mature team and transitioning to a younger team, and we just want to make sure that we’re putting guys in the right position to have success and that expectations line up.”
The Capitals have invested heavily in their blueline not only with recent large contracts doled out to Martin Fehervary, Jakob Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin, and Matt Roy, but with draft picks as well. Five of those prospects, Vincent Iorio, Leon Muggli, Ryan Chesley, Cam Allen, and David Gucciardi, will be at camp this week. Another, the highly-touted Cole Hutson at Boston University, should be ready to make the professional leap this spring.
According to @AFPAnalytics, a Carlson extension is expected to cost approximately $6.9 million for three years. The Capitals are currently projected to have $36.5 million in cap space next offseason.
