Carlson focused on Cup with Capitals, not contract

ARLINGTON, Va. --John Carlson's calm demeanor gives little away whether he's battling in the stressful final minutes of a Stanley Cup Playoff game or discussing his future beyond this season.
The Washington Capitals defenseman's focus at the moment is on defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Second Round. The best-of-7 series tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS2).

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That's enough of challenge that Carlson said his expiring contract and the possibility of becoming an unrestricted free agent July 1 are far from his thoughts.
"I've got enough to worry about right now," said Carlson, who signed a six-year contract with Washington in 2012. "I don't need to be worrying about that, that's for sure."
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said before the playoffs began he would like to re-sign Carlson, but will wait until the offseason to begin contract negotiations. Waiting has not appeared to weigh on Carlson, who is tied with Torey Krug of the Boston Bruins for the League lead in playoff points among defensemen with nine (one goal, eight assists).
The 28-year-old also led defensemen with a career-high 68 points during the regular season, and established NHL career-highs with 15 goals and 53 assists. That he has thrived under these conditions is no surprise to those used to his even-keeled personality.
"He's got confidence in his game, confidence in himself," Capitals center Jay Beagle said. "But it's a quiet confidence that you know he knows the type of player he is, I guess, and I think it's just a matter of he lives for the big moments."
Charlie Skjodt, who first coached Carlson as a 17-year-old with the Indiana Ice in the United States Hockey League, remembers some NHL team scouts mistaking that quiet confidence for a lack of competitive drive.
"I don't know if I ever told him, but some of them said he was a little, I don't know if lackadaisical is the word, but he just didn't seem to have the intensity," Skjodt said. "But he really does. He just portrays it in a different line. The bottom line is he's just like the new Gatorade drink: he's smooth."
Even then, it was evident Carlson had all the tools to be a productive offensive defenseman with his skating, passing skill, strong shot and poise with the puck. In 2006-07, he had 50 points (12 goals, 38 assists) in 44 games with the New Jersey Rockets of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League.
In 2007-08 with Indiana, Carlson had 43 points (12 goals, 31 assists) in 59 games.
"So 10 years later he's doing that at the NHL level," Skjodt said. "I can't say I'm really that surprised."
What surprised Skjodt was that Carlson wasn't picked higher in the 2008 NHL Draft. He said that 15 teams talked to him about Carlson prior to that draft, including two or three who told him they planned to select him in the first round.
"The only team I remember not speaking with was Washington," he said.

After teams that told Skjodt they intended to take Carlson passed on him, the Capitals selected him with the 27th pick. Carlson jumped to London of the Ontario Hockey League in 2008-09, getting 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists) in 59 games, before joining the Capitals' American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey for the playoffs and helping it win the 2009 Calder Cup.
"He was 19 at that time and he started playing 20 minutes a night for us and was just a huge asset," said Beagle, also a member of that Calder Cup team. "Then, he goes to [the World Junior Championships] and scores that goal."
"That goal" was the winner for the United States in the gold medal game of the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship against Canada (6-5). The goal, which came on a 2-on-1 at 4:31 of overtime, was Carlson's second of the game and his seventh point (four goals, three assists) in seven games in the tournament.
"That's the one the greatest memories of definitely my youth career," said New Jersey Devils forward Kyle Palmieri, who was teammates with Carlson on the 2010 U.S. team. "He's a guy that doesn't get rattled by too much and his poise and ability in those pressure situations is something that's made him successful at this level."
Dean Blais, who coached the U.S. in that tournament, remembered Carlson being quiet and composed, which hid his will to win.
"You sometimes wonder if he's as intense as he should be or we want him to be," Blais said. "But when the game is on the line, he'll be physical when he has to, he'll block shots when he has to, and he'll find a way to be a big part of the winning play or winning moment. He's always found a way."
Carlson played in 22 regular-season games and all seven playoff games with the Capitals in 2009-10 before rejoining Hershey to help it win its second consecutive Calder Cup. Since then, he's been driven to win the Stanley Cup.
This might be his final opportunity to do it with Washington.
His nine points in the first round against the Columbus Jackets tied the Capitals record for most in a playoff series by a defenseman set by Kevin Hatcher in the 1988 Patrick Division Semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Each point would seem to strengthen his bargaining position for his next contract, but he's too caught up in his Stanley Cup quest to think about that.
"I would like to think that I play my best hockey now," he said, "and pride myself on when it's needed most to do whatever it takes."