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Less than a week after committing one of the most blatant and glaring offenses of the season and a few days after hearing about his six-game suspension, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has waved the whit flag and won’t appeal the NHL decision to ban him from appearing in a game until April 4, ESPN reports.
“Tom Wilson has decided not to appeal his six-game suspension for a high stick to the head of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor,” an anonymous source told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on March 24.
Before the suspension was announced, another source told ESPN that the Capitals “had anticipated a suspension longer than six games due to Wilson’s disciplinary history.”
For context, this is Wilson’s ninth suspension or fine since he started to play in the NHL and throughout a career that spans 746 games to date. On top of those punished infrigments, Wilson has committed many more that were documented by Mary Clarke of USA Today a few months ago and will surely need an update following last weekend.
Wilson and the Capitals had the right of appealing the ban in an attempt to reduce its length. The six-game suspension matched the longest one handed out this season, which belongs to Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron for cross-checking Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub in December 2023.
NHL Blames Suspension on Tom Wilson’s “Reckless” Action
Wilson had an in-person meeting via Zoom with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday, March 22 to discuss the high-stick hit to the head of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor on Wednesday, March 20 that led to Wilson’s suspension.
After reviewing the play and taking to the Capitals forward, the NHL decided to suspend the player for six games alleging Wilson “draws his stick back and then swings it forward in an extremely reckless fashion, making direct and forceful contact with Gregor’s face.
“Wilson’s actions on this play are fully under his own control, irresponsible, and not related to any sort of legitimate hockey action.”
The NHL added an interesting comment to the explanation of Wilson’s offense, mentioning his “substantial track record of supplemental discipline,” which is what could have led the Capitals officials to initially believe the suspension could be even longer than the actual six games Wilson got banned for.
According to Wyshynski, Wilson’s suspension was limited to six games “because his previous suspensions didn’t involve stick fouls and because this was his first run-in with the Department of Player Safety since May 2021.”
Capitals Lost Tom Wilson But Welcomed Back 1,000-Game T.J. Oshie
Capitals forward T.J. Oshie returned to the lineup on Sunday, March 24, after missing two games with an injury. Washington mired in the fight for a postseason berth by way of clinching a wild-card seed, defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 with Oshie contributing 2 assists on the day.
Oshie’s return was celebrated following the milestone he reached a few days ago when he appeared in his 1,000 NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks on March 16.
“There’s no other milestones that I really set for myself in my career,” Oshie said in an interview with ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski published ahead of his return on Sunday.
The win over the Jets left the Capitals in possession of the second wild-card with 79 points through 70 games, sandwiched between the Tampa Bay Lightning (85 points in 71 games) and the Detroit Red Wings (78 in 71).
After declining to appeal the decision of the NHL to suspend him for six games, Wilson won’t be available to play until the Capitals face the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 4. Washington has four games left to play between now and that date, including a pivotal matchup against the Red Wings on Tuesday, March 26.
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