Joined: Apr. 2018
Posts: 5,351
Likes: 1,535
People confuse high scoring for good... but Washington isn't moving Carlson unless it is for something that no one could ever say no to.
The Caps are a north team. Go that way, go that way, go that way, go that way. Carlson is extremely good at that. Ovechkin is going to be 35 when next season starts. At some point his skills will diminish, but the Caps are still in his window. Ovechkin's amazing ability to avoid injury his entire career means that nothing is broken and wearing out faster than it should. He has a few years left and they are going to feed the machine until the wheels fall off.
Nylander is obviously a nice piece, Dermott is... okay, maybe good, maybe 3rd pair, Der and the 1st are futures which don't help the Ovechkin window much. It's just not enough to offset what Carlson brings period, much less what Carlson brings to the Caps and their plans/needs.