The Capitals paid tribute to Carlson with a pregame ceremony.
WASHINGTON — There's no denying the importance of John Carlson for the Washington Capitals.
The 35-year-old blueliner is the franchise's all-time leader in goals, assists and points among defensemen, and recently hit 700 career NHL points. He is also the franchise's leader in games played among defenseman and has been the team's ice time leader for years, logging over 23,000 minutes.
"John's such an underrated defenseman, and hopefully... people will reflect back on his career and really peel back the layers of truly how good he is and how much he's done fo this team," coach Spencer Carbery said.
Washington honored Carlson for his achievement in a pregame ceremony prior to their Super Bowl Sunday matinee against Utah Hockey Club.
Capitals play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati started the festivities with a speech.
"It's Superhero Day, so let's honor one," he said.
Carlson, along with his wife Gina, children Lucca, Sawyer, Rudy and Bella, took the ice to be honored as the team had a video tribute and gifts at the ready.
Carlson first received a video tribute featuring shoutouts from Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, Braden Holtby and more teammates.
"Confidence is Johnny," Ovechkin said in the video.
Then, teammates gifted him with a custom bottle of wine, while owner Ted Leonsis and Monumental Sports and Entertainment gifted Carlson with a custom oil portrait of him hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Cup has the names of his family inscribed, while the painting also features tributes to other Capitals defensive greats.
The team also surprised him with tributes from other defensemen across the league, including Roman Josi, Kris Letang and former NHLer P.K. Subban.
