When the Capitals signed Jakob Chychrun to a massive eight-year, $72MM extension in March, most thought he’d been locked in as their succession plan to John Carlson as the team’s No. 1 defenseman. That appears to be the case, as Capitals general manager Chris Patrick told reporters today they’re in no rush to begin extension talks with Carlson as he enters the final season of his deal, the AP’s Stephen Whyno relays.
Carlson will be 37 years old in the summer of 2026 after wrapping up the eight-year, $64MM extension he signed following Washington’s Stanley Cup win in 2018. He’s coming off another strong offensive campaign en route to a regular-season conference crown for the Caps, leading Washington defensemen and ranking seventh on the team in points with a 5-46–51 scoring line in 79 games.
But the two-time All-Star and the 2020 Norris Trophy runner-up still isn’t producing anywhere near his 2018-2022 peak, during which he averaged 0.91 points per game. While still a legitimate top-four threat, there’s understandable hesitancy about continuing to bill him as their leader in ice time among rearguards as the offensive-minded Carlson enters his 17th NHL season, all with Washington.
It’s likely the Caps remain intent on extending Carlson as long as he’s willing and effective, but they’ll want to get a glimpse of what he looks like to kick off the 2025-26 season before zeroing in on the money and term they’re willing to offer him. Patrick got a ton of long-term business done during the season, but they still have Martin Fehervary and Connor McMichael on expiring deals and due considerable raises when Carlson’s deal is up in the summer of 2026. Alex Ovechkin’s deal is up then as well, but he’ll presumably either retire or re-sign at a significantly lower price than his current $9.5MM cap hit.
Holding off on a Carlson deal allows the Caps a bit more peace of mind when making moves this summer too – they won’t limit their longer-term cap space when considering trade pickups or free agent signings. Regardless, their ability to be major players in free agency without some unanticipated pre-July 1 trades will be limited. They’ve got nearly their entire roster fleshed out for next season already with 21 of 23 roster spots filled. They do have $8.6MM to burn on those two spots, though.
Regardless, expect some of Carlson’s minutes (23:34 ATOI in 2024-25) to be shifted to Chychrun (21:04 ATOI) next season as the transition begins. It’s also worth noting that the Chychrun-Carlson pairing fared the worst defensively out of any Capitals regular defense pairing this year, allowing 2.85 expected goals against per 60 minutes (according to MoneyPuck).
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.