2 reasons why John Carlson is perfect fit for Ducks

One of the more stunning moments of the 2025-26 season is going to be when John Carlson suits up for his first game with the Anaheim Ducks. The former Washington Capitals defenseman has been out with an injury since early February, but had been progressing toward a return before the Ducks acquired him at the trade deadline. It looks like he could be in the lineup within the next week.

Carlson is going to make an immediate impact on Anaheim’s lineup. He is an aging veteran, but a fresh start with a young team could be just what the doctor ordered for the pending unrestricted free agent. As long as he doesn’t take the departure from the Capitals too hard, the Ducks are going to enjoy what he will bring to their Pacific Division chances.

The division looks to be wide open, with the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers having plenty of question marks. The good news for the Ducks is that one of their main question marks, their defense, looks much better with Carlson’s name added to the depth chart.

John Carlson helps league’s second-worst defense

NHL fans aren’t going to find a much better viewing experience than a Ducks game. They have one of the most talented, young offensive groups in the league with Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, and Mason McTavish. Add in some veteran leadership in Chris Kreider, Mikael Granlund, and Alex Killorn, and the Ducks are doing just fine with their forward group.

The Ducks’ problem lies in their defense. Anaheim had the league’s second-worst defense when they acquired Carlson, surrendering 3.51 goals against per game. All the talk is about how poor the Oilers are defensively, but the Ducks are even worse. The good news for the Ducks is that they have a goaltender who is proven to steal games, and their defense is now a more cohesive unit with Carlson.

The veteran isn’t just a defensive presence. There is no telling how their young left side of the blueline will perform in the postseason, despite Jackson Lacombe, a Team USA Olympian, being among those players. The third-year defender didn’t get any playing time in Milano-Cortina because he is still a bit unproven. The Ducks should have some concerns about how he’ll look once the playoffs ramp up.

Lacombe currently quarterbacks the first powerplay unit, but there aren’t many defensemen more comfortable in that role than Carlson. It is Lacombe’s job to lose, but Joel Quenneville will have no problem inserting his new veteran after all his years feeding Alex Ovechkin one-timers on the Capitals’ top powerplay unit.

Veteran defenseman is literally a perfect fit on young Ducks blueline

The one problem with the Ducks’ blueline is its inexperience. Pat Verbeek helped that last season when he acquired Jacob Trouba, but there was still a missing piece. Ironically, Anaheim’s three young defensemen are all on the left side in Lacombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger. With captain Radko Gudas and Trouba on the right side, Carlson’s insertion can give the blueline perfect symmetry with a veteran and a future piece on each pair.

It doesn’t mean the strategy is without flaws. If the three playoff rookies all struggle in their first postseason, it’s a lot to ask the three veterans to carry each of their lines. However, with none of the rookies worthy of coming out of the lineup, this strategy is the best that the Ducks have.

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