CAPITALS’ WILSON TO APPEAL 20-GAME BAN

Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson will appeal his 20-game 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 St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist in the teams’ pre-season finale Sunday. Wilson has 48 hours from the time the suspension was handed down to provide written notice of an appeal to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, but 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 US$5.17 million average annual value of Wilson’s contract, he will forfeit $1.26 million. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.