Before we talk the Flyers and Carlson, observe the table below....
The Following is a list of NHL teams over the last 21 years who had the worst regular season power play in the NHL...and if they made the playoffs..
So, as you can see...only three teams in 21 years made the playoffs...
In 2009 the Blue Jackets were swept by Detroit in the first round.
In 2019 the Predators actually won the Central but lost in the first round in 6 to Dallas.
That means in 21 years the only team to have the league's worst power play and win a round is the 25-26 Flyers.
John Carlson Does Not Need to Be Prime John Carlson to Help the Flyers
The Flyers made the playoffs in 2025-26, which should matter in any conversation about where they go next. They were not a club playing out the string and hoping young players learned enough to make the future interesting. They got in. They gave themselves a chance. They proved there is already enough structure, work ethic, goaltending, and forward depth for them to take this, and to be taken, seriously.
But making the playoffs also revealed the major problem. The Flyers still looked like a team that needed a true veteran power-play quarterback.
That is where John Carlson becomes such an interesting name.
The immediate reaction to Carlson is probably predictable. He is not the same player he was in 2018. He is older now. He has logged a mountain of minutes. He has been through long playoff runs, heavy regular-season usage, injuries, transitions, and the normal wear that comes with being a top-pair defenseman for more than a decade. If the conversation is about whether Carlson can still be the elite, franchise-level, Norris-caliber force he was at his peak, the answer is probably no.
But that is the wrong question for Philadelphia.
The Flyers do not need John Carlson to be 2018 John Carlson. They need him to be better than the internal power-play options they had in 2025-26. And the bar there was not especially high.
Jamie Drysdale led Flyers defensemen with nine power-play points. Travis Sanheim, despite leading Flyers defensemen in total points, finished with only three power-play points. That is the gap. The Flyers had defensemen who could contribute. They had defensemen who could play important minutes. They had Sanheim producing overall offense and Drysdale showing flashes of the player Philadelphia hoped it was getting. But they did not have the kind of veteran blue-line organizer who could consistently make a power play feel settled.
Carlson, even in a split and transitional 2025-26 season, finished with 14 power-play points overall. And most of that was in Washington who used him on the second unit behind Jacob Chychrun who finished with 18 ppp... Quinn Hughes led NHL defensemen with 34 power-play points. Evan Bouchard had 33. Cale Makar had 29. Miro Heiskanen and Moritz Seider each had 28, while Darren Raddysh reached 26. Carlson is no longer sitting in that very top tier.
But Philadelphia does not need him to be in that tier. The Flyers need him to raise their own floor and mentor.
That is the key to the entire argument. It is not about pretending Carlson is still the same version who helped define Washington’s power play during its best years. It is about comparing him to what the Flyers actually have. If Philadelphia’s top power-play defenseman produced nine points, and Carlson produced 14 during limited second unit minutes, and a less-than-ideal season, then there is at least a reasonable hockey argument that he would upgrade the role.
The Flyers’ power play has needed more than a shooter. It has needed a commander. A good power-play quarterback does not simply move the puck from one side of the ice to the other. He changes the pace. He rotates positions. He pulls penalty killers toward him, waits an extra half-second, opens lanes, and understands when a unit needs motion instead of panic. He knows when to shoot for a rebound and when to pass through a seam. He also knows how to calm a group when a power play starts to become a burden instead of an advantage.
Carlson has done that for years.
Its important to note, Carlson left Washington as the franchise’s all-time defenseman leader in goals, assists, points, and power-play points.He has played with elite scorers, managed high-pressure touches, and lived in the part of the game where every mistake is magnified because everyone in the building knows the puck is supposed to run through you.
For Philadelphia, that experience could have real value.
Drysdale and York are important. The Flyers should still want them both growing into a bigger offensive role. They have mobility, skill, and the kind of tools that make teams patient with young defensemen. But development and contention are not always the same timeline. If the Flyers are trying to win playoff rounds, they cannot simply hope Drysdale becomes the answer immediately. They need insulation. They need competition. They need someone who can take pressure off younger players rather than force them to carry the entire responsibility.
Sanheim is also important, but his 2025-26 profile tells a different story. He led Flyers defensemen in total points, yet produced only three on the power play.... his best value is not as the primary power-play operator. Some defensemen drive offense at even strength better than they run a set power play.
Carlson’s appeal is that his job has been obvious for most of his career. He can stand at the top, distribute, shoot through traffic, and provide a veteran presence that forces penalty killers to respect him. Even if he is no longer elite, he still profiles as someone who can improve a unit that lacked a proven quarterback.
Last year he had 60 points in 71 games. Playing 23 minutes a night. He was a plus 11 for the Caps and a -2 for the younger offense driven Ducks. Ovechkin was lvid when Carlson was traded.
The Flyers top scoring defenseman was Travis Sanheim. 37 points. Followed by Drysdale 32 points. The two best D in Philly combined for only 11 more points than Carlson. Cam York was third with 26 points....no there Flyers D-man had more than 10 points...
The broader league numbers make Philadelphia’s issue stand out. Many playoff-level or ambitious teams had defensemen far ahead of the Flyers’ internal power-play production. Hughes, Bouchard, Makar, Heiskanen, Seider, Raddysh, Erik Karlsson, Roman Josi, Adam Fox, and others all provided far more from the blue line on the man advantage. Philadelphia does not need to match the best teams player for player, but the gap shows where the Flyers can still improve.
That is why Carlson makes sense as a targeted solution, not a savior.
If the Flyers view him as a player who must transform the entire team, they are asking too much. If they view him as a veteran who can stabilize the first or second power-play unit, mentor younger defensemen, and add credibility to a weakness that followed them into the postseason, the fit becomes easier to understand.
The Flyers have reached the stage where marginal upgrades matter. Getting into the playoffs changes the standard. Once a team crosses that line, the next question is not whether it is respectable. The next question is whether it has enough specific weapons to win matchups. A better power play can swing a series. One extra goal in the right game can change the entire tone of a postseason.
Carlson may not be the old Carlson. He does not have to be.
And then there’s the money. It's gonna cost you to get Carlson for two years probably around $9 million. Is that a lot? Yes. Does that matter? No. Actually I shouldn't say it doesn't matter. If you own Comcast and don't want the Flyers to spend some of the money they have under the cap because you want it for yourself....then yes it does matter.
But it cracks me up when fans of sports teams argue that it would be better to have extra cap space that just sits there...
The Flyers are in a very good position because they have a lot of players that are still playing on the rookie contract for the next couple years. That is why they have space and they should use that space to bring in quality people who can fill important needs.
And Carlson wants to come to philly. The guy played 16 years in Washington and has kids and a wife that still live there of course because they are entrenched in their school systems. Philly is the closest city in the NHL to Washington DC. It's a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive depending on where you live in the suburbs of DC..
Will Carlson put up huge numbers? Maybe...maybe not. But he doesn't have to, and there is no other player out there that you can get....without giving up assets...who will help the Flyers as much as he would.
The Flyers’ internal bar on the power play was nine points from their top defenseman. They somehow managed to make the playoffs with the worst power-play in the NHL.