John Carlson has been in the news a lot these days. Carlson wore a Maryland Terps cap during his exit interview after the Ducks were eliminated by Vegas, which many of us took as a sign that he’s coming home. Then there was a piece in the Hockey News that Carlson may want to play on the East Coast next season . So, will he come back to play on Fun Street in the fall or it just wishful thinking?
It hardly ever happens. A pending free agent gets traded at the deadline. Fans believe he will resign as soon as free agency begins, but reality sets in when said player moves on. I can only think of one time when a player who was flipped at the deadline resigned with his former team after the season, and that was Harold Baines resigned with the Baltimore Orioles in 1999.
Actually, it has happened more often than most realize, and not just in baseball. There are a number of examples of players being traded and resigning with the tram that traded them in the offseason. The St. Louis Blues traded captain Keith Tkachuk at the deadline to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007. He resigned with St. Louis a few months later. Tomas Plekanec did the same in Montreal in 2018. Antoine Vermette, Roman Polak, Nick Bjugstad, the same as well. There is precedent.
I read too much into things from time to time (it is one of many talents), so I believe that Terps hat was a not-so-subtle message to Capitals fans. I think Carlson was letting us know he’ll be back this summer. He could have worn any hat, or no hat at all, yet he chose a Maryland Terrapins hat. He had to have known that it would get everyone’s hopes up after that shocking trade deadline deal. Carlson reached out to Cole Hutson after the young defenseman signed with the Caps in March and told him to text him if needed anything. Carlson was seen in the area the other day hanging out with Logan Thompson. Hmm.
It’s not crazy. Carlson and Alex Ovechkin are close friends. Ovi said how hard the trade was for him , that Carlson was Ovi’s best friend on the Caps and it was the "saddest day" if his career. John Carlson grew up in Colonia, New Jersey. I know a lot of people from New Jersey who went to college in the District, Maryland, and Virginia, on both shores, who didn’t leave after or ended up coming back to stay and put down roots. One of them has been the head coach of the Commanders for the past few of years!
The Caps need a right shot defenseman who can run the point in the power play, especially with Rasmus Sandin expected to miss significant time rehabbing his knee injury. Carlson would seamlessly fill that void. When you put it all together it all together, all signs seem to point to Carlson following in the footsteps of Harold Baines and resigning with his former team come July. I think he told us that’s what he intends to do.
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