Facing Capitals for first time with Lightning will be ‘weird’ for Carlson

TAMPA -- John Carlson pushed to the middle of their stretching circle near the end of the morning skate on Saturday at the urging of his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates.

It was an acknowledgement that the Lightning’s game against the Washington Capitals at Benchmark International Arena (7 p.m. ET; The Spot, MNMT) will have particular meaning for the 36-year-old defenseman, more than just being his first home opener with them.

For the first time, the 36-year-old defenseman will play against the Capitals, his team for 17 seasons before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks on March 6.

“I think it'll be weird,” Carlson said. “Obviously, as soon as the schedule came out, it didn't take long to see it. I don't know. We'll see what happens, but I think, at a minimum, it'll be a little bit weird here.”

Carlson didn’t get the chance to play against Washington after the trade to Anaheim last season. After helping the Ducks end an eight-year Stanley Cup Playoff drought, he signed a two-year, $17 million contract with Tampa Bay as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Carlson made his Lightning debut Thursday, a 5-1 loss at the New York Rangers. If that game helped make wearing a Lightning jersey feel less strange -- “I think as time goes on, you get used to looking down at a different color” -- this one will be about dealing with seeing the Capitals uniform on an opponent for the first time and the lingering emotions over the late-night trade that ended his tenure with them.

The trade, which was announced after 1 a.m. ET on March 6, the day of last season’s NHL Trade Deadline, was jolting not only because Carlson had already gone to bed for the night. He said he thought he would play his entire career with Washington, which selected him with the No. 27 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, “Pretty much every day up until that.”

Of course, Carlson knew the trade, in which the Capitals acquired a first-round pick (No. 18) in the 2026 NHL Draft and a third-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft, was a possibility because he was in the final season of his previous contract.

And though there had been some discussions about re-signing, Washington general manager Chris Patrick informed agent Rick Curran about two weeks before the trade that he wanted to pause discussions because the Capitals were fading from contention for a playoff berth.

Still, when it actually happened, it upended his world and that of his wife, Gina, and their four children.

“I spent half my life there,” Carlson said. “It’s a little different feelings and emotions that are tied to all that, just the sheer time and effort and everything. My kids have been there longer than most players. So, from all standpoints, it was a shock.”

Carlson’s place in Capitals history is secure, and they will likely retire his No. 74 whenever his playing days are over. He is their all-time leader among defensemen in goals (166), assists (605), points (771), power-play points (273) and games (1,143). He also holds the their playoff records for a defenseman in goals (21), assists (57), points (78), power-play points (44) and games (137). That includes 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 24 games in 2018, when he helped Washington win the Stanley Cup for the first time.

He was also an important part of Capitals’ leadership group as an alternate captain and was integral in helping establish the winning culture that helped them qualify for the playoffs in 14 of his 16 full seasons with them.

“There's been so many good people that have come through this organization,” said forward Tom Wilson, who was teammates with Carlson for 13 seasons. “You go right down the list since I've been here. Just really, really quality people. John was one of those people, and what he did for the culture in the room, it lives on. He invested a ton of pride and blood, sweat, and tears in this team, and we still feel it.

“We still have a lot of lessons that we learned from him, and it'll be weird to play against him, but I think there'll be some laughs, some smiles.”

After battling alongside Carlson for 17 seasons, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin also expects it to be strange to play against him for the first time.

“It’s going to be tough, but it’s a business,” Ovechkin said. “He’s a great friend, unbelievable leader. I miss this guy in the locker room.”

After going through so much with Ovechkin, Carlson acknowledged, “It will be a little bit of a weird feeling,” to line up against him.

“I think once the game starts, after the first few shifts, it will feel more normal,” he said. “I’ve played against him in the Olympics, so at least I have had that experience. But I played with those guys for a long time, put a lot of hours in on the road and friendships and all that.”

Carlson is starting to build new friendships with the Lightning and appreciates the opportunity he has with them, playing on their top defense pair and quarterbacking their first power-play unit.

“It’s been a blast so far,” he said. “It’s been fun getting into the community and all that and my kids set up in all their stuff.”

Carlson was always one of Washington’s most competitive players, even hating to lose during practice drills. His former teammates expect to see his best effort Saturday.

“He’s definitely not going to take it easy on us,” Wilson said.

Tampa Bay doesn’t play at Washington this season until March 15, but it will “probably” be more emotional because it will be his first time playing in the building he called home for so long.

“I think early on in the season, there's a lot of stuff going too,” he said. “Everyone is kind of trying to find their footing, get used to new things, especially kind of emphasize with the shortened camp as well. So, that’s where we're at right now.

“And that one will probably feel a lot different.”

That won’t make Carlson want to win the game Saturday any less, though, particularly with the Lightning coming off a disappointing performance in their season opener.

“We didn’t get off on the right foot, and, at the end of the day, it is a game,” he said. “I’ve played in a lot of different types of games before, meaningful and whacky and weird. So, at the end of the day, you navigate those as quickly as possible and there’s a game to be won.”