Washington Capitals alternate captain John Carlson recorded his 700th career point on Monday night against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, becoming the 31st defensemen in NHL history to reach the 700 point mark and the sixth active defensemen, joining Brent Burns (894), Erik Karlsson (845), Kris Letang (758), Victor Hedman (757) and Roman Josi (711).
Additonally, Carlson is the 13th defensemen in NHL history to record 700 points with one franchise. With 154 career goals and 546 career assists, Carlson reached his 700th point in his 1,049th career game and is the 25th blueliner to reach the milestone in fewer than 1,050 games.
Carlson's 546 assists are the seventh most by a defenseman at the time of their 700th point, trailing only Borje Salming (561) Dave Babych (560), Sergei Zubov (559) Chris Chelios (552), Victor Hedman (550), and Scott Stevens (547). Among the 25 defensemen with 700 career points who are eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, 20 have been inducted.
Carlson is in his 16th season with Washington and is the franchise's all time leader in games played at 1,049, goals with 154, assists with 546, and points with 700 among defensemen. Among all skaters, Carlson ranks third in Capitals history in assists and plus/minus with +100 and fifth in points.
The Capitals have a record of 599-324-126 with a .631 point percentage with Carlson in the lineup since his NHL debut on Nov. 20, 2009 and a 352-112-51 record with a .733 point percentage when Carlson records a point. This season he has 26 points in 40 games with three goals and 23 assists.
The highest scoring defenseman in Capitals history is the 31st blue-liner in NHL history to reach 700 career points.
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 7, 2025
Congrats, Carly!#ALLCAPS | @LeidosInc pic.twitter.com/NEUsZNSURq
The Capitals will hold a pregame ceremony on Saturday Feb. 9 prior to their game against the Utah Hockey Club to honor this hisoric milestone and during the ceremony, Carlson will receive a special gift from the organization.
Carlson said to the media after the milestone via Mike Vogel of WashCaps.com:
"It seems like it took a while, but it's a big accomplishment I think, personally. I've been lucky enough to play on a great team my whole career, and with fantastic players. I couldn't have dreamt of it as a kid, so it's pretty special. "John Carlson to Vogs
Carlson is additoinally the seventh USA born defensemen to record 700 career points. Back in 2014, the Natick, Massachusetts native represented the USA at the Winter Olympics in Sochi and did so again at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He also scored the game winning goal in overtime for Team USA against Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championshp to clinch the gold medal and he also was named to the tournament's All Star Team.