John Carlson hit a major milestone in the Washington Capitals’ 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
After recording two assists in the game, Carlson became just the 21st defenseman in NHL history to record 600 assists, joining some of the greatest rearguards of all time in the record books. Fifteen of those defensemen have already been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, while five of the players, including Carlson, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Victor Hedman, and Kris Letang, are still playing.
NHL defensemen with 600 or more assists
| Rank | Defenseman | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Bourque | 1,169 |
| 2 | Paul Coffey | 1,135 |
| 3 | Al MacInnis | 934 |
| 4 | Larry Murphy | 929 |
| 5 | Phil Housley | 894 |
| 6 | Nicklas Lidstrom | 878 |
| 7 | Brian Leetch | 781 |
| 8 | Chris Chelios | 763 |
| 9 | Larry Robinson | 750 |
| 10 | Dennis Potvin | 742 |
| 11 | Scott Stevens | 712 |
| 12 | Erik Karlsson* | 699 |
| 13 | Brad Park | 683 |
| 14 | Brent Burns* | 666 |
| 15 | Bobby Orr | 645 |
| 16 | Gary Suter | 641 |
| 17 | Borje Salming | 637 |
| 18 | Victor Hedman* | 635 |
| 19 | Sergei Zubov | 619 |
| 20 | Kris Letang* | 619 |
| 21 | John Carlson* | 600 |
* denotes an active player
Carlson is the only defenseman in Capitals history to notch 600 assists with the team. He’s also the fifth American-born player in NHL history to do so.
Carlson reached the milestone on Wednesday after recording two secondary assists at Rogers Arena. His first apple came 8:25 into the game on a Dylan Strome power-play marker, after finding Tom Wilson open near the goal line.
John Carlson’s 599th career assist on a Dylan Strome PPG
Carlson’s milestone assist occurred with 3:23 remaining in regulation. With Logan Thompson pulled for an extra attacker, Carlson sent a shot from the point that was stopped by Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen. Justin Sourdif managed to push the rebound further toward the goal line before Strome finished the play. The goal brought the Capitals to within one goal, 4-3, but they could not tie the game in the waning minutes.
John Carlson’s 600th career assist on a Dylan Strome 6-on-5 goal
Carlson has 40 points (9g, 31a) in 47 games this season. During his career, Carlson has the 24th most points among defensemen in NHL history, posting 765 points (165g, 600a) in 1,135 games.
307 of Carlson’s 600 career assists are primary apples, while 293 are secondary. Per Capitals PR, 368 of the assists have come at even strength, while 225 have come on the power play and 7 shorthanded.
The five players Carlson has assisted the most on goals are Alex Ovechkin (162), Nicklas Backstrom (53), Tom Wilson (41), Evgeny Kuznetsov (40), and TJ Oshie (39).
