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Washington Capitals: John Carlson must stay

By Ron Juckett

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare #41 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 and won the series four games to one. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare #41 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 and won the series four games to one. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Top Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson hits unrestricted free agency in July. Even with salary cap limits, they must re-sign him.

The Washington Capitals need John Carlson back with the team next season. Although that is a sentence straight out of “Captain Obvious,” it is easier said than done.

Carlson expects to make between $8-9 million for the 2018-19 campaign and the next six or seven after. Only 28, he has enough playing time in to be a full unrestricted free agent. After July 1, he is on the open market.

Washington, however, wants him back. Carlson enjoys playing for the Caps, something about winning a large trophy this year helps. The hangup is not his salary demands, but the NHL Salary Cap.

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At the moment, the cap is $75 million. Thanks to the overwhelming success of the Vegas Golden Knights, the number will jump somewhere between $78 and $82 million for the upcoming season. Washington has 16 players under contract for $63,784,295.

With seven contracts to fill on their active roster of 23, they have $11.2 million of cap space. If they get the minimum of three extra million, they only have $14.2 million to fit in Carlson and everyone else.

For the record, the Caps have five unrestricted free agents. Besides Carlson, Alex Chiasson, Jay Beagle, Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek are poised for their open payday. Five others, including Philipp Grubauer and Devante Smith-Pelly, are restricted free agents. Grubauer is being shopped for trades.

Although most of the Caps stars are signed well past next season, keeping Carlson gives Washington a good defenseman heading into the prime years of his career. If he stays, they are immediate favorites to return to the final four and in great position to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Carlson put up his best offensive numbers of his career this past season. His 15 goals, 53 assists and 68 points were all career highs. So was his 24:47 minutes of ice time and 82 games played in the regular season. Along with Alex Ovechkin, Carlson excelled as a quarterback on the power play. His 28 assists with the advantage was his best mark by 11.

In the playoffs, Carlson found another gear.

Averaging 25:38 in ice time a night, he popped four power-play goals and carried a plus-11 in the plus-minus rating over 24 games. In the mold of Paul Coffey, Carlson has the instincts of a fourth forward while holding his own on defense.

Next: Caps Orpik deserves a hand

In this defensive-minded era, having a two-way player who can create chances, especially on the power play, is huge as the Caps hope to repeat. If the Washington Capitals can keep the cap hit under $9 million, they must re-sign John Carlson.

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