Washington Capitals fans, can you help me understand?

[michaelpatko]

First, I'm not trying to start a fight here, I really want to know.

Occasionally I review the player safety videos on NHL.com
I just watched the Tom Wilson video.
I want to dislike him, but don't have all the facts.
Seems to me he's a 24 year old punk with a whopping 35 goals in nearly 400 games.
Why is this kid making 5 million?
Your organization should be ashamed.

So, what's he like?
Does he do charity stuff for kids, or anything like that?
Nice to meet in person for an autograph?

We've had our share of professional athlete A holes here in Buffalo, so I know they exist.
What's up?

[scottkoz20]

[LecavalierFan]

He's here, playing on the top line, making room for Ovechkin and Kuznetsov to do their thing, basically. He does have a scoring talent, if he would stop doing boneheaded things like get suspended over plays that don't need to happen, or can happen in a different, legal way. As for getting 5 mil, well, the GMs here have a tendency to pay loyal soldiers, and that's basically what Wilson is.

I like him, and I think he'd be an amazing power forward if he changed his game up a bit. He doesn't always show it, but his shot is deadly accurate at times, and I'd love to see more of it. His hitting is nice, as it keeps other teams honest, but only when it's a legal hit. He's had too many questionable/not-so-questionable hits.

Anyways, I rambled, but I hope this answered your question.

[30ranfordfan]

Not a Caps fan, so I'm adding that disclaimer right now.

Remember that Tom Wilson was a first round pick (in 2012) and was better than a point-per-game player in his last season of Junior. He's NOT an offensively incapable player.

If you look at his point totals, and PIM totals, since he's been in the NHL - it's easy to write him off as a goon, and assume he brings nothing else to the table.

The fact that he's capable of playing on The Ovechkin line, and not looking out of place (like a lot of "enforcers" would) is a big part of why he got that contract. 5 goals / 15 points - in 21 playoffs games last year - also helped.

Likely if Tom Wilson was told by his team to tone it down, and just play hockey, you'd see him PIMs drop, suspensions go away, and point totals increase. I think a lot of what the team likes about him though, is the fact that he plays "on edge" - and is the rough / physical guy.... that sometimes crosses a line he shouldn't.


I do want to stress that in no way am I making excuses for Tom Wilson. Personally, I think his suspensions have been too light.... but I also happen to think that he's actually a much more talented dude than he gets credit for.

[Thick McRunfast]

I agree with the other comments so far. And I'll add that maybe Tom Wilson is just playing in the wrong decade. He would have fit in much better with the 1970s or 1980s NHL.

[Devlin]

another serious infraction and he'll be gone 80 games, ala raffi torres

[michaelpatko]

All good information. Thanks everyone

[Maggot]

He is incredibly talented and had an offensive explosion last year. Add the fact that he rarely loses a fight and delivers a ton of punishment along the boards.
Awesome player that every team would love to have, but he's throwing his career away by losing his cool and committing pointless, suspendable penalties.

[Sharky94]

If you look at his point totals, and PIM totals, since he's been in the NHL - it's easy to write him off as a goon, and assume he brings nothing else to the table.

A lot of that is the organization's fault. When they first brought him up, they put him on the 4th line and told him to play that way. They basically forced him to go out and start fighting and become the enforcer because nobody else on the team was/is willing to get physical. A lot of teams share the physical load with a few tough defensemen and such, but the Caps' D-men, other than Orpik, basically never push anyone around. So Wilson basically had to fight to make the team early on. Unfortunately, he was so good at it, he quickly got a nasty reputation. A lot of those PIM totals now are simply because of his reputation. He now gets called for an awful lot of ticky-tack garbage simply because of that reputation. A lot of things that either shouldn't be called, or would be coincident penalties, now go against him just because of who he is. That doesn't excuse some of the stupid things he does do. But he has made a considerable attempt to fight less the last few years, but his PIM totals have not decreased to show that.

I will agree that I thought his new contract was too much (but I think ALL contracts are too much). But in the playoffs last year, his play greatly opened up the ice for Ovie and Kuzy, making them more successful. The Caps have been searching for a good fit on Ovechkin's other wing for about 10 years. So even if he doesn't score much, if he makes Ovie/Kuzy more effective, then he's doing his job.

[jameslacarte]

Sean Avery #2!! This guy is a clown in my eyes & would luv to see Lucic grab ahold of him like he did the other night with that other clown & teach him a lesson.
I dont think he is a Goon. Just a clown!! He fights guys he knows he can handle, runs around like a meat head Charging people. Guys like Probert, Clark, Schultz, those guys are Goons, Tough guys, they will drop the gloves with anyone, thats a goon. I hope next time they kick Wilson right out of the League like they did with Avery.