Wilson’s 20-game ban is ‘garbage,’ Capitals say
Washington winger appealing suspension for blindside hit to head
Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson will appeal his 20game suspension from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, according to coach Todd Reirden. Wilson received the supplemental discipline on Wednesday afternoon for an illegal check to the head of Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist in the teams’ pre-season finale Sunday.
Wilson had 48 hours from the time the suspension was handed down to provide written notice of an appeal to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. It’s highly unlikely Bettman will overturn the decision.
Wilson could then appeal to a neutral arbitrator, and in both cases, Wilson would remain suspended during the appeal process (unless the full term of his suspension has run). The appeal would go through the NHL Players’ Association, not the Capitals.
Based on the $5.17-million (U.S.) average annual value of Wilson’s contract, he will forfeit $1.26 million. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Wilson’s appeal will likely focus on the surprising length of the suspension. The Department of Player Safety described Wilson’s fourth suspension in his past 105 games, including pre-season and playoffs, as “an unprecedented frequency of suspensions in the history of the Department of Player Safety,” which led to the harsh sentence.
If the appeal does not get overturned, Wilson will serve his 20-game ban and not be available to play until the Capitals’ Nov. 21 game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Regardless, the Toronto native will be able to practise and travel with the team.
“Honestly, I think it is garbage, if I’m going to be honest,” right wing Devante Smith-Pelly said. “We watched a video from the league saying what hits are good and what aren’t. They showed some hits way worse than that, maybe not in force, but in regards to the head that were so-called allowed, and I guess he just had a different rule book. It’s garbage, honestly.”
Washington officials privately suspected he would be suspended roughly 10 games. The 20-game ban is the most severe discipline the Department of Player Safety has handed down since Raffi Torres was suspended 41games in 2015 for an illegal hit to an opponent’s head. That was the fifth suspension of Torres’ career, and his fourth suspension had been for 25 games three years earlier.
Wilson typically plays on the Capitals’ top line with centre Evgeny Kuznetsov and captain Alex Ovechkin. He’s coming off a career season with 14 goals and 21 assists, which earned him a new six-year, $31-million deal. Right wing Brett Connolly skated in Wilson’s place in Wednesday’s season opener, which Washington won, 7-0.
Wilson was able to skate on to the ice in full uniform at Capital One Arena for the Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony be- fore the win against the Bruins. The six-foot-four, 218-pound right wing got a raucous ovation. Fans chanted “Free Tom Wilson” in the third period.
Capitals forward T.J. Oshie found out about Wilson’s suspension when he first walked into the dressing room at the arena on Wednesday.
“I went and gave him a hug and said, ‘I’m sorry,’ ” Oshie said. “It’s unfortunate. He wants to be out here with us. He earned a nice contract and now he’s losing a quarter of that. That’s too bad. We’re going to miss him. We’re going to miss him a lot out there, but he’ll be around.”
“At least Tom’s play was on the ice and he was hitting the guy that had the puck milliseconds before,” Oshie added, referring to Bruins forward Brad Marchand’s fight with Capitals centre Lars Eller, who did not want to drop the gloves.