An honor befitting a superhero—this was the underlying emotion and intent as the Washington Capitals celebrated John Carlson’s big moment. The Capitals were in a festive mode, going into their game with the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday. Just before the puck hit the ice, they celebrated Carlson’s 700-point mark, which he crossed on January 6, the same day the Capitals played the Buffalo Sabres.

This puts Carlson on top of the charts in NHL history as the 31st defenseman and the seventh American player to do so. Though the Capitals lost that game to the Buffalo Sabres that day with a score of 4-3, the defeat couldn’t completely contain the Capitals’ moment of pride at Carlson’s legendary feat. The Washington Capitals held a dedicated pre-game ceremony to merit Carlson amidst the presence of their home crowd at the Capital One Arena.

Former NHL All-Stars Mark Messier and P. K. Subban chimed in along with the rest of the fraternity to congratulate Carlson on making history. “Hey, John, it’s Mark Messier. Want to congratulate you on becoming the Washington Capitals all-time leader for defenseman for goals and assists. You’ve had an amazing career. I want to wish you all the best in the future. Keep it up,”

P. K. Subban also added, “Carl, uh, just want to say congratulations, 700 points, uh all-time leader in defense for points in the Washington Capitals history. It was awesome playing against you and watching your career. And I really admire where you’ve come both as a hockey player and as a family man and what you’ve done for the Washington Capitals organization and for the city of Washington.”

Head coach of the Washington Capitals, Spencer Carberry, was all praises for Carlson and eloquently went on to describe the importance and the role of Carlson as THE Capital’s defenseman. Ahead of the tribute to Carlson, Carberry had a lot to say about the blue liner and what he means to the Capitals.

“What i’ve come to appreciate is what the rest of the world doesn’t see. And it’s a shame because John’s such an underrated defenseman and hopefully I can help that and people will reflect on his career and peel back the layers of truly how good he is and how much he has done for this team in a bunch of different eras.

He just..he does so many things in a hockey game that will not show up in the box score and the common fan doesn’t notice that he does at a really really high level, he’s so intelligent positionally, penalty kill 5 on 5, defending some of the fastest, most skilled players in the world, his stick positioning, you can just go down the list of all these little undercover plays and undercover decisions defensively and offensively that he makes in every single game.

So the thing I’ve come to appreciate is, wow, i didn’t realise how good John Carlson truly was and what a shame how, at least the way I perceive it how under appreciated he is as a defenseman and how valuable he is and I look at too – Sorry, one more small thing is what he’s doing right now in this part of his career, 2018, all that stuff is really really impressive but this to me, maybe even more impressive with our team, and now as its turned over and younger players and what he’s doing now as a #1 defenseman is special.”

The Capital One arena erupted into thunderous applause when Joe Benninati, the sports commentator, announced Carlson’s achievements from the Zamboni corner. Carlson’s wife Gina, and four children joined Benninati at the Zamboni to cheer Carlson on.

The Captain America of NHL – John Carlson

John Carlson’s achievements in his career are plenty but what stands out is his tenure with the Capitals. To be ranked as the No.7 American defenseman in the history of NHL is no ordinary feat. The Washington Capitals drafted Carlson in the first round of the 2008 NHL draft picks. From 2008, Carlson has played in a total of 1064 games for the Capitals, and the Capitals only. Carlson currently stands with an amassed total of 709 points. But, as head coach Carberry said, Carlson’s nuances are not for the ordinary and go beyond measures.

John Carlson has made his name as one of the top defensemen in the NHL with consistent performances throughout the years for the Washington Capitals. Carlson played a pivotal role in making history for the Capitals when they won their second ever Stanley cup in 2018. The team which was led by Ovechkin, saw Carlson’s impeccable performance as a two-way defenseman for the Capitals which played an instrumental role against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Following his Stanley Cup performance, Carlson re-signed with the Capitals for an 8-year contract extension with a renumeration of $64 million. Carlson is shining brightly this current season, still going strong with 55 game appearances, with 4 goals and 31 assists so far and a cumulative score of 35 points. Despite his consistent contribution in defense and offense, the Capitals bit the dust in their game against the Utah Hockey Club at a score of 5-4 falling short of one goal to victory.

The Washington Capitals will now have time to recoup and gather themselves to better prepare for their upcoming games at the 4 Nations Face-Off that is set to commence on February 23. The Capitals currently are at the No.1 spot in the Eastern Conference despite their concurrent losses in the past few games. While Carlson’s light hasn’t dimmed, we hope that the Capitals can come back stronger in their first face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Only time can tell the future but what are your opinions? Do tell us in the comments section below.