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John Carlson

#74 · Defence · Tampa Bay Lightning

Born Jan 10, 1990 in Natick, Massachusetts, USA (age 36) · 6'3", 225 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 27th overall in 2008 by WSH (round 1)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2017-18

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2010-11. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Kimmo Timonen PHI · 37 P in 82 GP Tyler Myers BUF · 37 P in 80 GP Niklas Kronwall DET · 37 P in 77 GP P.K. Subban MTL · 38 P in 77 GP Anton Babchuk CGY · 35 P in 82 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02040602009-10: 6 points609-102010-11: 37 points372011-12: 32 points3211-122012-13: 22 points222013-14: 37 points3713-142014-15: 55 points552015-16: 39 points3915-162016-17: 37 points372017-18: 68 points6817-182018-19: 70 points702019-20: 75 points7519-202020-21: 44 points442021-22: 71 points7121-222022-23: 29 points292023-24: 52 points5223-242024-25: 51 points512025-26: 60 points6025-262026-27: 4 points4

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2009-10 WSH 22 1 5 6 11 8 21 29 0.27 $846K
2010-11 WSH 82 7 30 37 21 44 144 70 0.45 $846K
2011-12 WSH 82 9 23 32 -15 22 152 83 0.39 $846K
2012-13 WSH 48 6 16 22 11 18 97 59 0.46 $3.967M
2013-14 WSH 82 10 27 37 -3 22 208 64 0.45 $3.967M
2014-15 WSH 82 12 43 55 11 28 193 74 0.67 $3.967M
2015-16 WSH 56 8 31 39 16 14 124 46 0.70 $3.967M
2016-17 WSH 72 9 28 37 7 10 180 58 0.51 $3.967M
2017-18 WSH 82 15 53 68 0 32 237 47 0.83 $3.967M
2018-19 WSH 80 13 57 70 21 34 185 54 0.88 $8M
2019-20 WSH 69 15 60 75 12 26 189 55 1.09 $8M
2020-21 WSH 52 10 34 44 -5 12 128 52 0.85 $8M
2021-22 WSH 78 17 54 71 13 20 195 73 0.91 $8M
2022-23 WSH 40 9 20 29 -7 12 124 42 0.73 $8M
2023-24 WSH 82 10 42 52 -7 40 176 69 0.63 $8M
2024-25 WSH 79 5 46 51 17 22 167 49 0.65 $8M
2025-26 WSH 55 10 36 46 11 26 115 20 0.84 $8M
2025-26 ANA 16 4 10 14 -2 6 38 6 0.88
2026-27 TBL 4 2 2 4 0 0 14 3 1.00 $8.5M
18 seasons Career 1163 172 617 789 112 396 2687 953 0.68

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2009-10 WSH 7 1 3 4 6 0 14 5 0.57
2010-11 WSH 9 2 1 3 -2 4 23 15 0.33
2011-12 WSH 14 2 3 5 -1 8 27 30 0.36
2012-13 WSH 7 0 1 1 -4 4 21 4 0.14
2014-15 WSH 14 1 5 6 3 4 41 26 0.43
2015-16 WSH 12 5 7 12 -2 4 49 24 1.00
2016-17 WSH 13 2 2 4 1 4 38 21 0.31
2017-18 WSH 24 5 15 20 11 8 80 36 0.83
2018-19 WSH 7 0 5 5 0 6 23 14 0.71
2019-20 WSH 5 0 6 6 -11 2 11 4 1.20
2020-21 WSH 5 0 2 2 -2 6 8 6 0.40
2021-22 WSH 6 1 4 5 -5 2 12 14 0.83
2023-24 WSH 4 1 1 2 -1 2 14 4 0.50
2024-25 WSH 10 1 2 3 3 2 13 10 0.30
2025-26 ANA 12 0 6 6 -5 4 25 14 0.50
15 seasons Playoffs 149 21 63 84 -9 60 399 227 0.56

2010-11 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
82 7 30 37 21 44 144 70 0.45 4.9 22:39

Contract

$846KCap hitends in 2012, then RFA
$23KCap dollars per point37 points in 82 games
$91KCap dollars per goal above replacement9.3 goals above replacement
$4.4MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$3.6MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 315 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Washington Capitals on Nov 4, 2008, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.625M, beginning in 2009-10. It runs through 2011-12, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2009-10 $846K $788K $88K $875K
2010-11 $846K $788K $88K $875K
2011-12 $846K $788K $0 $788K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2026 Tampa Bay Lightning New contract 2026-27 to 2027-28 2 $17M $8.5M
Jun 25, 2018 Washington Capitals Extension 2018-19 to 2025-26 8 $64M $8M
Sep 15, 2012 Washington Capitals New contract 2012-13 to 2017-18 6 $23.8M $3.967M
Nov 4, 2008 Washington Capitals Entry-level 2009-10 to 2011-12 signed for 2008-09, slid 3 $2.625M $846K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2010-11 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2010-11 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+9.3Goals above replacement74th of 672 skaters, 13th of 233 defencemen
+1.6Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+3.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 233 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+0.9 85th percentileEven-strength defence+1.4 78th percentilePower play-0.5 32nd percentilePenalty kill+1.3 97th percentilePenalties+0.1 81st percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

0510152010-112013-142016-172019-202022-232025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

52.4Corsi for %1343 attempts for, 1221 against
+1.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.0Expected goals for %53.1 expected for, 51.0 against
-1.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
57.4Goals for %58 for, 43 against
101.4PDO8.4% shooting + 93.0% saves
220Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 569 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Karl Alzner · John Carlson771053:4551.950.542-32
John Erskine · John Carlson48125:4650.754.76-4
Jeff Schultz · John Carlson4048:5856.844.72-1
Scott Hannan · John Carlson2838:0950.741.42-1

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

7Goalsnot counting empty-netters
8.0Expected goalsfrom 206 unblocked attempts
-1.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.26 expected goals per 60 minutes80th
Shot quality 3.9% chance per attempt83rd
Finishing -1.0 goals above expected30thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 232 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

02468Game 20Game 40Game 60Game 80Expected 8.0Goals 7

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 9, 2011 @ FLA L 0-1 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 22:38
Apr 6, 2011 vs FLA W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 24:24
Apr 5, 2011 @ TOR W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 23:18
Apr 2, 2011 vs BUF W 5-4 (OT) 0 2 2 1 0 1 2 25:19
Mar 31, 2011 vs CBJ W 4-3 (OT) 1 1 2 0 0 4 0 25:48
Mar 29, 2011 vs CAR L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 2 0 8 1 28:12
Mar 26, 2011 @ MTL W 2-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 23:22
Mar 25, 2011 @ OTT L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 20:49
Mar 22, 2011 @ PHI W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27:19
Mar 18, 2011 @ NJD W 3-0 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 22:54
Mar 16, 2011 @ DET L 2-3 1 0 1 0 0 5 0 20:16
Mar 15, 2011 @ MTL W 4-2 0 1 1 2 0 6 0 20:04
Mar 13, 2011 vs CHI W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 22:07
Mar 11, 2011 vs CAR W 2-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 23:33
Mar 9, 2011 vs EDM W 5-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 21:52
Mar 7, 2011 @ TBL W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 22:26
Mar 6, 2011 @ FLA W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 23:49
Mar 3, 2011 vs STL W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 21:42
Mar 1, 2011 vs NYI W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 2 2 20:41
Feb 26, 2011 @ NYI W 3-2 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 20:31
Feb 25, 2011 vs NYR L 0-6 0 0 0 -3 0 2 2 26:50
Feb 21, 2011 @ PIT W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24:36
Feb 20, 2011 @ BUF W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 24:29
Feb 17, 2011 @ SJS L 2-3 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 23:58
Feb 16, 2011 @ ANA W 7-6 0 0 0 4 0 1 3 25:04
Feb 14, 2011 @ PHX L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 26:30
Feb 12, 2011 vs LAK L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 23:25
Feb 8, 2011 vs SJS L 0-2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 25:58
Feb 6, 2011 vs PIT W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 27:46
Feb 4, 2011 @ TBL W 5-2 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 26:49
Feb 1, 2011 vs MTL L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 22:38
Jan 26, 2011 @ ATL L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 23:08
Jan 24, 2011 vs NYR L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 22:56
Jan 22, 2011 @ TOR W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 2 18:43
Jan 20, 2011 @ NYI W 2-1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 19:26
Jan 18, 2011 @ PHI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 20:12
Jan 16, 2011 vs OTT W 3-1 1 0 1 1 0 3 2 21:07
Jan 14, 2011 vs VAN L 2-4 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 20:39
Jan 12, 2011 @ TBL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 2 5 1 25:27
Jan 11, 2011 @ FLA L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 18:47
Jan 8, 2011 vs FLA W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 21:18
Jan 4, 2011 vs TBL L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 19:20
Jan 1, 2011 @ PIT W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 26:28
Dec 28, 2010 vs MTL W 3-0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 22:13
Dec 26, 2010 @ CAR W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 22:11
Dec 23, 2010 vs PIT L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 22:47
Dec 21, 2010 vs NJD W 5-1 1 1 2 4 0 2 0 23:42
Dec 19, 2010 @ OTT W 3-2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 20:30
Dec 18, 2010 @ BOS L 2-3 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 17:55
Dec 15, 2010 vs ANA L 1-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 23:00
Dec 12, 2010 @ NYR L 0-7 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 21:17
Dec 11, 2010 vs COL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 26:01
Dec 9, 2010 vs FLA L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 17:38
Dec 6, 2010 vs TOR L 4-5 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 20:11
Dec 4, 2010 vs ATL L 1-3 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 22:51
Dec 2, 2010 @ DAL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 18:21
Dec 1, 2010 @ STL W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 21:04
Nov 28, 2010 vs CAR W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 25:09
Nov 26, 2010 vs TBL W 6-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 24:55
Nov 24, 2010 @ CAR W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 26:39
Nov 22, 2010 @ NJD L 0-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 27:11
Nov 20, 2010 vs PHI L 4-5 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 4 3 22:41
Nov 19, 2010 @ ATL L 0-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 20:47
Nov 17, 2010 vs BUF W 4-2 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 22:52
Nov 14, 2010 vs ATL W 6-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 23:35
Nov 13, 2010 @ BUF L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 24:32
Nov 11, 2010 vs TBL W 6-3 0 1 1 2 2 2 1 17:45
Nov 9, 2010 @ NYR W 5-3 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 21:35
Nov 7, 2010 vs PHI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 3 1 19:54
Nov 5, 2010 vs BOS W 5-3 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 21:36
Nov 3, 2010 vs TOR W 5-4 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 23:50
Oct 30, 2010 @ CGY W 7-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 21:15
Oct 28, 2010 @ MIN L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 21:32
Oct 27, 2010 @ CAR W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 20:08
Oct 23, 2010 vs ATL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 26:32
Oct 21, 2010 @ BOS L 1-4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 23:04
Oct 19, 2010 vs BOS L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 24:29
Oct 16, 2010 @ NSH W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 24:14
Oct 13, 2010 vs NYI W 2-1 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 20:49
Oct 11, 2010 vs OTT W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 1 1 21:49
Oct 9, 2010 vs NJD W 7-2 1 2 3 1 12 3 0 14:51
Oct 8, 2010 @ ATL L 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 18:43