Тампа Бэй Лайтнинг хамгаалагч Жон Карлсонтой гэрээ байгууллаа

Тампа Бэй Лайтнинг баг чөлөөт агент Жон Карлсоныг хоёр жилийн хугацаатай, 17 сая ам.долларын гэрээгээр эгнээндээ нэгтгэлээ.

Зак Веренски Коламбус Блю Жакетс багт үлдэхээр шийдсэний дараа Тампа Бэй Лайтнинг хамгаалалтын шугамаа хүчирхэгжүүлэх шаардлагатай болсон. Шейна Голдманы дүгнэснээр, 36 настай Жон Карлсон нь Даррен Рэдишийн орон зайг нөхөж, багийн довтолгоонд нэмэлт хүч нэмэх боломжтой тоглогч юм. Хэдийгээр насны хувьд эрсдэлтэй ч түүний довтолгооны бүс дэх бүтээмж, тогтвортой байдал нь багт ихээхэн хэрэгтэй гэж үзжээ.

Жон Карлсон өнгөрсөн улиралд карьерынхаа хамгийн өндөр үзүүлэлттэй тоглолтуудын нэгийг үзүүлсэн бөгөөд зөвхөн power play төдийгүй таван тоглогчтой үеийн довтолгоонд ч идэвхтэй оролцдог. Түүний туршлага, ур чадвар нь Виктор Хедманы хамтаар багийн довтолгооны чадавхыг дээшлүүлэхэд чухал нөлөө үзүүлнэ хэмээн шинжээчид дүгнэж, энэхүү гэрээг B+ үнэлгээтэй байна.

Тампа Бэй Лайтнинг баг Жэй Жэй Мозер, Райан Макдона, Эрик Чернак зэрэг хамгаалагчидтай ч довтолгооны хувилбарт оролцох хамгаалагчийн дутагдалтай байсан. Иймд урт хугацааны гэрээ байгуулах эрсдэлээс татгалзаж, богино хугацаанд үр дүн үзүүлэх туршлагатай тоглогчийг сонгосон нь багийн бодлоготой нийцэж байна.

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John Carlson is heading back to the Eastern Conference with Tampa Bay. Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images

The contract

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman John Carlson to a two-year, $17 million contract.

Shayna Goldman: With Zach Werenski staying with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lightning had to pivot to find a Darren Raddysh replacement. Carlson still has the offensive juice to be that.

That cap hit comes in above AFP Analytics’ projection for Carlson ($7 million) but is one year shorter, which makes sense with his age in mind. But it’s below what he’s projected to be worth over that time ($9.9 million a year).

Obviously, there’s some risk in betting on a 36-year-old defenseman. There can be some volatility in aging curves, especially at this point in a player’s career. It’s not like Tampa Bay’s core is getting any younger, either. The Anaheim Ducks, at least, had a lot of pace and tempo to help make up for what Carlson’s skating lacks at this point in his career. So there is a chance that his foot speed gets more exposed with the Lightning, whose pace was an issue at times in Round 1 of this year’s playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens.

But even with some gaps in his skating or rush defense over the last year or so, Carlson hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down offensively yet. It’s not just his ability to drive scoring at a high level that’s worth betting on; it’s his year-to-year consistency in doing that. That is worth $8.5 million a year for the next two seasons — especially in Tampa Bay.

The Lightning have defensive stoppers in J.J. Moser, Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak. What they don’t have is a ton of offensive pop on the backend. Raddysh obviously made an impact on the power play with his explosive shot. But he also did a lot of work at five-on-five to help the Lightning’s offense click; he helped transition the puck off the ice, was a strong setup man and a reliable shot contributor. The Lightning could have bet on that at the same $8.5 million price tag, but it would have come with a much longer commitment. So it makes sense why the team is betting on a 36-year-old for two years, versus a 30-year-old for eight: Raddysh doesn’t have the same long track record of being a difference maker, and that adds a lot of risk to the equation.

While Carlson’s puck-carrying isn’t as dominant these days, he still makes things happen in the offensive zone — whether he’s taking his own chances or setting them up with some dangerous passing. And he doesn’t just rely on power-play production to do damage on the scoresheet. His five-on-five scoring pace last season was actually the third-best of his career. So whether he’s the primary power-play quarterback or in a more secondary role to Victor Hedman, Carlson should be able to move the needle with his new team.

Contract grade: B+