John Carlson Records 700th Career Point

Capitals alternate captain John Carlson recorded his 700th career point Monday 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). Additionally, Carlson is the 13th defensemen in NHL history to record 700 points with one franchise.

Carlson (154g, 546a) recorded 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, who is in his 16th season with Washington, is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (1,049), goals (154), assists (546) and points (700) among defensemen. Among all skaters, Carlson ranks third in Capitals history in assists and plus-minus (+100) and fifth in points. The Capitals have a record of 599-324-126 (.631 point percentage) with Carlson in the lineup since his NHL debut on Nov. 20, 2009 and a 352-112-51 record (.733 point percentage) when he records a point.

This season, Carlson has recorded 26 points (3g, 23a) in 40 games.

The Capitals will hold a pre-game ceremony on Sunday, February 9 prior to hosting the Utah Hockey Club to honor the milestone. During the ceremony, Carlson will receive a special gift from the organization.

Carlson won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, where he led all defensemen in playoff scoring with 20 points (5g, 15a) in 24 games, including four points (2g, 2a) in five Stanley Cup Final games. Carlson is Washington’s all-time leader in playoff games played (127), goals (20), assists (55) and points (75) among defensemen.

Carlson, who was selected by the Capitals with 27th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, is the third defenseman from his draft class to reach the 700-point mark (Erik Karlsson: 845; Roman Josi: 711). Among defensemen from his draft class, Carlson ranks second in assists, third in points and power-play points (259) and fourth in goals.

In addition, Carlson is the seventh U.S.-born defensemen to record 700 career points. The Natick, Massachusetts native represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In addition, Carlson scored the gold-medal clinching goal in overtime for Team USA versus Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championship and was named to the tournament’s All-Star Team.

A two-time NHL All-Star, Carlson was named to the 2019-20 NHL First All-Star Team, the 2018-19 NHL Second All-Star Team and the 2010-2011 NHL All-Rookie Team. Carlson also won back-to-back Calder Cup championships with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in 2008-09 and 2009-10.