Scary details emerge from John Carlson’s gruesome facial injuries

This is not the update any hockey fan wanted to get on Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson. You don’t have to be a Caps’ fan to feel for what the blue liner suffered when he was struck in the side of the head by a slap shot from Winnipeg Jets’ Brenden Dillon on December 23rd, right before the holiday break.

Carlson was placed on the Capitals’ injured reserve on December 27 with head coach Peter Laviolette saying the veteran blue liner “was doing good” but that he’d be “out long term.”

The latest details coming from Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic are grim as the insider explains what the actual projected return date is and the fanbase will need to be patient. He writes: Carlson’s “recovery has been described to me in terms of months, not weeks” and that “[t]eam officials are hopeful the No. 1 defenseman plays again well before the playoffs.” An estimated return date for Carlson is “late in the regular season”.

Once forwards Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom are ready to return, it is likely that Carlson and his $8 million cap hit will be placed on long-term injured reserve, which will give Washington flexibility to bring those star players back onto the ice.

However, there is no doubt that Carlson’s absence on the blue line will leave a huge void. The evidence has been seen since his injury: offseason acquisition Erik Gustafsson and Trevor van Riemsdyk are currently skating as the team’s “first pairing”.

The Capitals might have to jump onto the trade market ahead of the deadline to get some help, especially if Carlson returns “late in the regular season”.

As if the injury itself was not scary enough, the latest update isn’t reassuring at all.

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