Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan met with the media after the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline to discuss numerous topics, including a couple of critical injury updates.
MacLellan said defenseman John Carlson, who has missed the past 27 games after getting hit in the head with a slap shot by former partner Brenden Dillon in a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on December 23, is working toward returning but the team will not get a better sense of whether he will be able to play again this season until near the end of March. The 32-year-old has skated on his own but has yet to participate in a team practice, let alone take contact.
John Carlson is working toward returning but Capitals won’t get a better sense of whether he’ll be able to play again this season until near the end of March, per MacLellan.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) March 3, 2023
Carlson, who has tallied eight goals, 21 points, a -1 rating, 53.07% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 53.3% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 51.53% five-on-five expected scoring chances-for percentage in 30 games this season, averaged a team-high 23:23 time-on-ice per game before getting hurt.
The prognosis on defensemen Nick Jensen’s upper-body injury is “more positive than we originally thought,” according to MacLellan.
The 32-year-old left Washington’s 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday with an upper-body injury. Jensen skated just 2:29 of ice time on three shifts before leaving the game after colliding with Anaheim defenseman Simon Benoit in the corner. His last shift lasted 17 seconds before he exited the game.
The prognosis on Nick Jensen’s upper-body injury is “more positive than we originally thought,” per MacLellan. Martin Fehervary’s lower-body injury “always just a shorter-term injury.”
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) March 3, 2023
Defenseman Martin Fehervary’s lower-body injury, which he also suffered on Wednesday, is “always just a shorter-term injury.” The 23-year-old played 19:13 before leaving the game in the third period.
Washington continues their four-game road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (6 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington+ in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market).
You can watch MacLellan’s full post-trade deadline media availability below:
By Harrison Brown
In other words we will see Carlson next season. Cool, not that he is injured, but that some of the young guys get to play and show what they can contribute to the team!
I think that’s likely the case, Druid. If I had to place money in Vegas….
As long as they get that opportunity to PLAY and not just watch or warm the bench.
I wouldn’t rush JC back at this point. I hope both NJ and MF are both minor injuries and they get a few more games in.
Agree. There is no value in doing so.
Co-sign ☝️
Relatively good news on Jensen and Fehervary. Granted, we didn’t get a timeframe for return. I had assumed that Jensen and Fehervary would not be able to play against the Sharks. But other than that, had no idea how long they’d be out.