Capitals’ Wilson has suspension reduced

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has had his 20-game suspension reduced to 14 by a neutral arbitrator and is eligible to play immediately.

Wilson has already served 16 games of his suspension for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis forward Oskar Sundqvist in each team’s preseason finale.

The ruling by Shyam Das allowed Wilson to return to the lineup Tuesday night at Minnesota, and the 24-year-old will recoup $378,049 of the $1.26 million he initially forfeited as part of the suspension.

The 20-game ban handed down by the NHL’s department of player safety came after Wilson was suspended three previous times in 13 months.

“Some hits, he’s going to have to avoid. They’re too risky,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in Toronto. “He’s going to have to avoid some hits and he’s going to have to let up on some hits also. You can’t have the same force because he hits hard and it looks bad, and sometimes he’s going to be evaluated on the force.”

Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld Wilson’s suspension on appeal before it went to Das, the same arbitrator who earlier this season reduced Nashville forward Austin Watson’s domestic violence suspension from 27 games to 18.

Since September 2017, Wilson had been suspended two preseason games for interference against the Blues’ Robert Thomas, four games for boarding the Blues’ Sammy Blais and three playoff games for an illegal check to the head of the Penguins’ Zach Aston-Reese.

“I’ve had lots of time to think about it and dissect parts of my game,” Wilson told reporters in St. Paul, Minnesota, after the Capitals’ morning skate. “At full speed, the rink’s not getting any bigger and guys are getting stronger and faster. Some of those hits at full speed, whether I can or can’t make those anymore and just putting myself in a good position not to have the ball in their court and make sure I’m controlling my end of it and make sure I’m controlling what I can do.”

Das wrote in his 42-page opinion that he agreed with the league that Wilson violated Rule 48 with an illegal check to the head and was not persuaded by the Players’ Association’s arguments that included a suggested eightgame suspension.