Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson reached the 1,000 NHL game milestone and pop singer Vanessa Carlton lent her voice to join in the celebration.
Carlton remixed their hit song “A Thousand Miles” with Carlson-themed lyrics as part of a collaboration between the group and production company Fresh Tape Media.
On Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, Carlson became the 128th defenseman in league history to skate in 1,000 regular season games. During his first 999, the 34-year-old played the 41 most minutes of any player in the league since ice time officially began being tracked in 1997-98, totaling just under 24,000 minutes — plus 3,005 more in the playoffs.
“He's not just a point producer who only plays on the top of the power play and can play it for 20 years,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “He plays that, plus he plays penalties, plus he plays 5-on-5 when you have to defend the lead and when you have to score. That skill and uniqueness, there are very few who log minutes in all those situations like him throughout his career.”
Carlson, who hails from Natick, Mass., but spent much of his childhood in New Jersey, has taken more than 26,000 regular-season snaps, all with Washington, since being drafted in the first round in 2008 and making his debut in 2009.
“You try not to think about it that way,” Carlson said Saturday morning when told that statistic.
The remix of Carlton's song was released after the similarly-named player spoke to reporters following the team's morning skate.
Carlson is the 80th player to dress in 1,000 games with one team. His milestone comes a few weeks after teammate TJ Oshie hit 1,000, and it helped prepare Carlson for what to expect not only Saturday night but next weekend (April 7 vs. Ottawa), when the Capitals a ceremony to honor him.
“You've got so much going on right now, in the now, in this league and where we're at and you just worry about what's at stake all the time,” Carlson said. “We're just trying not to get distracted by what's on our plate right now and where we're at.”
The Capitals are trying to get back to the playoffs after missing out last year for the first time in Carlson's professional career. He was a huge part of their run to the Stanley Cup in 2018, playing in all 24 games and recording 20 points while averaging nearly 26 minutes a night.
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