If the Capitals intend to re-sign defenseman John Carlson, they are going to be hard-pressed to do so while staying under the salary cap. In an appearance on NBCSN (transcribed by FanRag’s Chris Nichols), TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the expectation around the league is that the 28-year-old will land a contract between $7MM and $8MM per year and a term between six and eight years. (Only Washington can sign him for the maximum term of eight seasons.)
The Capitals have more than $63MM tied up in contracts to 15 players for 2018-19 which doesn’t leave them a lot of wiggle room to fit a contract like that for Carlson, even with the Upper Limit increasing a little bit as it is expected to do. Accordingly, Washington is going to be a team to watch for this summer to see if they make a move to create room (similar to what they did with Marcus Johansson back in July) or whether the leading point getter among NHL blueliners goes elsewhere in the coming months.
More from Washington:
- Although the Caps are getting closer to locking down another division title, owner Ted Leonsis told reporters, including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, that there is still no decision on the future of head coach Barry Trotz. Trotz is in the final year of his contract and while GM Brian MacLellan inked a new deal earlier this season, it doesn’t appear as if any extension has been offered to the bench boss. It has been speculated previously that Washington’s postseason performance might dictate his future and Leonsis didn’t exactly quash that as he declined to comment on that suggestion, merely saying that it’s “inappropriate” to comment on contracts right now.
- Rookie winger Shane Gersich made his NHL debut on Wednesday night and Trotz acknowledged to Khurshudyan that he is still undecided on his bottom six group of forwards for the playoffs and that the 21-year-old could work his way into the mix. Unlike a lot of the NCAA signings we’ve seen in recent days, Gersich would be postseason-eligible as he has been on Washington’s reserve list all season long, something that isn’t the case with the undrafted free agents that are signing contracts.
They’re suffering now because of that awful Orpik contract. Not to mention they overpaid Orlov imo.
If the Caps lose Carlson, they are in trouble. They have nobody in their system who can replace him. I have season tickets for their minor league affiliate in Hershey & there is not a defenseman there who is anywhere near as complete a player as Carlson. Most of the d-men in Hershey are young and most of them struggled this season. Tyler Lewington is the best defensive d-man there, but he doesn’t have much offense. Lucas Johansen is supposed to be an offensive defenseman, but he has not scored at a high rate. He still needs time. Connor Hobbs is supposed to be an offensive-minded d-man, but the offense hasn’t really been there and his play in his own zone isn’t good. Jonas Siegenthaler is solid defensively, but, like Lewington, there isn’t a lot of offense there. As for Christian Djoos (who is already in Washington), he could provide the offense, but isn’t anywhere near as good defensively as Carlson. Madison Bowey isn’t consistent on either end of the ice. He will show flashes of brilliance, then make a mistake that makes you shake your head. I don’t know how they can do it, but the Caps really need to find a way to keep Carlson in the fold