Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has been suspended 6 games following a high sticking incident in his team’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
The NHL’s department of player safety issued the ruling after Wilson’s stick struck Noah Gregor in the face. The ban marks the 6th suspension of Wilson’s career, but first since the 2021 campaign.
“Wilson’s actions on this play are fully under his own control, irresponsible and not related to any sort of legitimate hockey action,” NHL Player Safety stated in their ruling. “He is accountable for the dangerous result of the play which is a direct and forceful blow to an opponent’s head by a player with a substantial track record of supplemental discipline.”
“Wilson draws his stick back and then swings it forward in an extremely reckless fashion, making direct and forceful contact with Gregor’s face.”
The 29 year old currently has 32 points (17G, 15A) across 66 games for the Capitals this season, and is once again a big reason why Washington is in the playoff mix. His ability to get under opponent’s skin has been on full display in 2023-24, accumulating 120 PIMs to date, which is his highest total since the 2018-19 campaign.
While Wilson has a reputation around the league for playing on the edge, he’s come a long way since the beginning of his career which saw him earn 4 suspensions in a 105 game stretch. That period also included a 20 game ban for his hit to the head on Oskar Sundqvist.
Originally drafted 16th overall from the Plymouth Whalers by Washington, the 2012 draft pick earned a Stanley Cup ring with the Caps back in 2018. His 1,419 PIMs rank 3rd all time in Capitals franchise history trailing only Dale Hunter and Scott Stevens.
Washington will now be without one of their top forwards for the next handful of games as they try to remain in the mix for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.