NHL free agency is set to begin on July 1 at 12:00 p.m. ET. One of the more sought-after free agents on the market will be defenseman John Carlson. Before being traded from the Washington Capitals to the Anaheim Ducks, Carlson and the Caps were engaged in talks on a contract extension. Reports were that the contract was expected to be around $9 million in AAV for two seasons.
Now, the 17-year veteran could be seeing an even bigger payday, according to insider Frank Seravalli.
“John Carlson’s gonna get paid. I can tell you right now, from the teams that I’ve talked to… The teams that are gonna be in the mix, are teams that wanna win, have a chance to win, and can pay. My ballpark for John Carlson at age 36 is something like 3 (years) times $9.5 million. It might end up being $9M, it might end up being $10M, but I think John Carlson is getting a raise. He was that good in Anaheim,” Seravalli said.
Carlson is coming off an eight-year contract extension he signed ahead of the 2018-19 season with the Capitals that paid him an AAV of $8 million per year. Projections from AFP Analytics expect Carlson to make $7 million in AAV over three years. Still, Seravalli thinks he is going to get much more.
“That’s one of the stories of this off-season, is how much John Carlson is going to make in AAV. It’s probably going to blow some people’s minds,” the insider added.
There will be multiple teams that could be interested in the services of the veteran, including the Ducks or Capitals. Carlson enjoyed his time with the Ducks, but spent his entire career with the Capitals before the trade. Further, other teams could come in and provide a compelling offer, and Carlson could be finding a new home.
The post NHL rumors: John Carlson could command as much as $10 million AAV on open market appeared first on ClutchPoints.
