John Carlson: “I Love It Here. I Want to Stay Here. But There’s More To It”

The biggest storyline heading into the Washington Capitals offseason is whether or not the team will re-sign pending unrestricted free agent John Carlson. Carlson had his best season with the Capitals, leading all NHL defensemen with 15 goals and 68 points. His amazing play carried over in the playoffs as he led defensemen with five goals and 15 assists for 20 points.

With the way Carlson tore it up this past season, his asking price will likely be very steep. When he met with the media Wednesday Carlson said, “We’ll see what happens. We’ll talk and go from there. I don’t know what else to say other than that. I love it here. I want to stay here but there’s more to it than that.”

“I love it here. I want to stay here. But there’s more to it than that.” — John Carlson on his approaching free agency. Washington, btw, is home for Carlson. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/ytUhigqQmB

— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) June 13, 2018

Carlson’s deal will likely land in the range of $7-8 million in average annual value. Per Cap Friendly, the Capitals current projected cap space is just $11,215,705 but that number could increase if the NHL raises their salary cap.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Brian MacLellan and Carlson meet face-to-face. If a deal doesn’t get reached by July 1, Carlson will likely test the open market where a ton of teams will want to add him to their blueline.

By Michael Marzzacco
Follow @marswaggo

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Congratulations to @jc7474, @gnacarlson and Lucca Carlson on the arrival of their new baby boy last night. #CapsFamily #ALLCAPS #Capitals

A post shared by NoVa Caps (@nova_caps) on May 5, 2018 at 8:33am PDT

About Michael Marzzacco

Michael is an avid DC sports fan with a passion for writing. He has followed the Washington Capitals since the 2003-04 season, around the time his enthusiasm for DC teams really began. It was from the days when they had the worst record in the league to when they became the most exciting team in the area. His Dad took him to his first Caps game a couple of years later. One of his favorite memories was being in the stands during the 2015 Winter Classic where Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with 12 seconds left. Michael graduated from Radford University in May 2016, earning a degree in journalism and focusing on sports journalism and broadcasting. His goal is to work in sports media in Washington, D.C.

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