Player Discussion John Carlson - Vol. 2
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Corby78
65 - 10 - 20
With a three point afternoon, Carlson has now tied Mike Ridley for 8th all time in caps points. He will probably be sitting in 6th all time after passing Bengt and Hunter in the next couple months.
txpd
Registered User
He was out on all the penalty kills and the 5 on 6 times. He just isn't flashy, but 17pts in 13 games is as good as it gets. Doing this with a rookie partner.
895
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- Jun 15, 2007
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Credit where credit is due, Carlson has much much better the past 10 games.
twabby
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- Mar 9, 2010
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He’s been really good, friends. If we get this version of him in the playoffs the C*pitals can do some real damage.
Neil Racki
Registered User
Hes always been offensively gifted .. biggest gripes last season were his moments when it seemed like he got frozen with indecision in his own end. Sometimes hed retrieve the puck in the corner or behind the net then just stand not making a decision. Forecheck comes and takes the puck or hed make a dumb breakout pass leading to a turnover.
No brain dead delay of game penalties just airmailing pucks into the stands is also nice.
Hes been great this year. Much quicker with the puck.
No brain dead delay of game penalties just airmailing pucks into the stands is also nice.
Hes been great this year. Much quicker with the puck.
Marshall
A ribbon reflector
For the record, it would take a mountain of evidence to convince me that John Carlson wouldn't be a much bigger star if he played in a Canadian market. As in, a slight tier below Coffey and Patrick-type hype.
No, nobody asked me, just wanted that opinion noted.
No, nobody asked me, just wanted that opinion noted.
Devil Dancer
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- Jan 21, 2006
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HecticGlow
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Like many other players he’d be a bigger star, absolutely, but he’d also get roasted alive on a regular basis by the Canadian media and team fanbase, far worse than anything you’d experience in Washington or Pittsburgh. Players on those teams become very all-or-nothing real fast. Just look at the onslaught even the 4th or 5th D gets on the Maple Leafs. It’s a tough market to be a star in, and JC always strikes me as too much of a laid back guy to want to endure that on a regular basis.
txpd
Registered User
Lets be honest. John Carlsson is....I mean John Karlson....Dang. Thats right. His name is Carlson. He's just not a very exciting player. He isn't a star because he is a league leading scoring defenseman with no highlights. None.
His biggest moment was the goal in the WJC which was no more exciting than the goal he scored last night. Which was a Backstrom highlight.
His biggest moment was the goal in the WJC which was no more exciting than the goal he scored last night. Which was a Backstrom highlight.
maacoshark
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- Jul 22, 2017
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What you are saying doesn't mean he isn't a very good player. It seems all fans care about is how flashy a player is. I don't care about that stuff.
Bergeron and Kopitar aren't flashy players either but they are 2 of the best 2 way players in the league. Another player that isn't flashy is Hedmen but he is probably the best defenceman in the league.
txpd
Registered User
I didnt say anything about his quality. As a rule I think more of him than many here
Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
Carlson would be treated the same way Morgan Rielly is treated by Leafs fans. They all know he’s a good defenseman that can produce a lot of offense, but his deficiencies on defense would hurt his reputation.
In Washington, the media never makes any mention of how Carlson’s defense is not what you would want it to be for a #1D. They just see him putting up a lot of points and they think he should win the Norris based on that.
maacoshark
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I also think more of him than most. I also think he isn't near as bad defensively than most people claim. He makes mistakes but he also makes alot of good defensive plays.
For some reason people think he isn't a good 2 way defenceman even though he is better defensively than most other offensive defenceman.
The new breed of elite defencemen are high offense and zero defense.
Carlson can defend. He isn't a shutdown guy but he is atleast average or better.
I also don't think he would get attacked as much as you think by fans if he was on the Leafs. He is a much better dman than Reilly.
maacoshark
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maacoshark
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You should keep in mind that the majority of #1 dmen are primarily offensive defenseman.
And alot of them are worse defensively than Carlson.
In my opinion I think people here expect way too much from him because he is our number 1. They expect him to produce at a point per game rate. They expect him to run the pp. They expect him to kill penalties. They expect him to play more physical. They expect him to be a shutdown guy against other teams top players.
Sorry guys but there hasn't been a player like that since Denis Potvin.
maacoshark
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- Jul 22, 2017
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And for the record the Norris trophy is pretty much awarded to the best offensive defenceman. If it was for 2 way play then Karlsson, Burns, Fox or Josi wouldn't have a norris
Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
We’re not expecting him to be Denis Potvin or Nick Lidstrom. FWIW, there is a D in the league right now that can do it all, it’s Victor Hedman.
When I think of a Norris level D, I think of him first. Yes, Carlson is better than Rielly but I’m not super thrilled to see that the #2D and #3D Orlov and Jensen are both better than him defensively.
I don’t care about killing penalties or even playing physical. Your run of the mill 2nd pairing D in this league can take care of that. I want him to stop getting caught puck watching in his own end.
When I think of a Norris level D, I think of him first. Yes, Carlson is better than Rielly but I’m not super thrilled to see that the #2D and #3D Orlov and Jensen are both better than him defensively.
I don’t care about killing penalties or even playing physical. Your run of the mill 2nd pairing D in this league can take care of that. I want him to stop getting caught puck watching in his own end.
txpd
Registered User
Larry Murphy was treated worse by Capitals fans than Reilly in Toronto and far worse than Carlson. Carlson doesn't get nearly enough credit for his brilliant offensive ability and results because he isn't flashy and I think he gets far too much criticism around here. He is a special player and in general we don't treat him that way. He is an all situations defenseman. Mike Green was a special player in his prime and was not nearly the player that Carlson is now.
twabby
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- Mar 9, 2010
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Carlson’s defensive issues were quite noticeable before this year. Indeed, as measured by Evolving Hockey’s xGAR he was a below replacement level defensive player for 8 straight years prior to this one. His offensive abilities more than made up for it in terms of being a net-positive player, but I don’t think he received unfair criticism for his defensive play.
As alluded to, however, he appears to have turned it around this season and on the whole this has probably been his best overall stretch of play ever. If he keeps up this pace all season he should actually contend for a Norris.
As alluded to, however, he appears to have turned it around this season and on the whole this has probably been his best overall stretch of play ever. If he keeps up this pace all season he should actually contend for a Norris.
zappa4ever
Music is the Best!
JC74 is such a Jekyll/Hyde player
He'll commit straight up brain-dead pizza turnovers and then by the end of the game he's got a multi-point game again
Last night v DET classic example as Locker's talking about turnovers JC on-cue serves up a freebie; it's almost like he's thinking:
'when the play is drawn up on the board there's no D-man there so this has to be a safe pass' Hockey IQ of a doorknob sometimes
Overall I think he's above average D, excellent on O, but sometimes the synapses just aren't all firing
He'll commit straight up brain-dead pizza turnovers and then by the end of the game he's got a multi-point game again
Last night v DET classic example as Locker's talking about turnovers JC on-cue serves up a freebie; it's almost like he's thinking:
'when the play is drawn up on the board there's no D-man there so this has to be a safe pass' Hockey IQ of a doorknob sometimes
Overall I think he's above average D, excellent on O, but sometimes the synapses just aren't all firing
Carlson has been very solid after a shaky start. The top four in general has been rock solid but Carlson has to be the leader of the pack if they want to contend for a Cup and right now he is.
maacoshark
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Look at some of the other number 1 dmen. Are any of them the best defensively on their own team? Not many if any.
Alot of number one dmen are 5th or 6th best defensively on their own team.
Carlson is fine defensively. We don't need him to be a shutdown guy.
I agree that Hedman is the best overall defenceman in the league right now. I wouldn't compare him to Lidstrom though. Watch a few Tampa Bay games and will see that Hedman doesn't always play well defensively. He can be downright terrible at times. Didn't someone comment that he was a minus 6 a couple of nights ago.
Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
Lidstrom had a game where he was -4, and 9 other games in his career where he was -3. Hedman is not perfect, but on most nights he does everything you could possibly want a #1D to do.
I think Carlson can be decisively better than guys like Hamilton or other #1Ds around the league that are average at best in their own end.
