Capitals forward Tom Wilson made his season debut on January 8 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Wilson returned from a lengthy rehab process due to a surgery he had done on May 25 to repair the ACL in his left knee.

When he took the ice against Columbus, he did so for the eleventh season as a member of the Washington Capitals. Wilson was drafted by the organization in 2012 and debuted for the Caps in the 2012-13 playoffs.

While speaking on Hot 99.5’s Your Morning Show on Tuesday, Wilson talked about playing in DC for the last 10 years. He was highly complimentary of the city and its fans.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine ever playing somewhere else,” Wilson said. “I love it here. It’s definitely become home. Ten years is a long time so it’s been an awesome ride. It’s a great city. Proud to play here and play for the fans and the city of DC. Definitely been a lot of fun and definitely privileged to be here for so long and play in one spot. I don’t take it for granted and just try to enjoy a good minute of it.”

When Wilson’s return against Columbus was announced inside Capital One Arena, he was returned some of that love by the DC faithful in attendance. Both he and Nicklas Backstrom received a standing ovation.

Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson got quite the ovation when they were announced as starters. #Caps pic.twitter.com/iQQZKvYAJZ

— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) January 8, 2023

“It’s one of the coolest moments of my career for sure,” Wilson said. The reception and the cheer when they announced my name and Nicke as well.

“Just to have the support, it’s something that throughout your injury process you miss (when you’re out),” he continued. “The gamedays you’re driving in and you’re seeing all the jerseys of people coming to and from the games. That’s why you play. You play every night for the fans and the city. It motivates you to get back and you definitely feel the support. Just seeing people wearing Wilson jerseys while I was out to the game and stuff. It’s really cool to feel that support and it definitely pushes you to get back out there. It was pretty cool when it came full circle and you got to get back out on the ice and get that welcome from the home fans.”

The DMV area has become a place where Wilson and his wife Taylor have put down a lot of roots. Back in 2019, Wilson became a major investor in Bash, an Arlington-based “boxing-inspired full body fitness community”. Since then Bash has spread out to three other locations in Virginia.

Tom and Taylor have also been very active volunteers at Wolf Trap Animal Rescue in Merrifield, Virginia. The couple helps foster puppies and Taylor plays a huge part in organizing and directing the Capitals’ yearly Caps Canine Calendar fundraiser.

“Tom Wilson and Taylor Pischke have been impact volunteers and supporters with WTAR since they adopted Halle from us in March of 2020,” Dr. Amber Burton, the CEO, founder, and veterinarian, said to RMNB last March. “Through them – other members of the Caps family have now become involved. We are always extremely appreciative when they spend their few days off to help with rescue operations.”

The two almost permanent DC residents even got married in the area this past August. So, it’s probably safe to say that the couple enjoys their new hometown.

“I don’t want to give away all of my secret spots but the thing that’s great about DC is that there are so many such good restaurants, such good food,” Wilson said. “There’s so many good spots and there’s so many good areas. Between DC and a lot of guys live out in Virginia in Arlington and then you got The Wharf, you got Georgetown, you got so many different options.

“That’s what my wife and I love about the area,” he continued. “You can kinda be everywhere pretty quickly depending on what you’re feeling on that night. We try and get out as much as possible to enjoy the city, enjoy the good food. We’re lucky to be able to do that in a great city.”

Wilson signed a six-year, $31 million extension with the Capitals in July of 2018. After this season, that deal has just one year left on it before the big winger is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Given his comments, it sure sounds like he’ll want to stay in DC for a lot longer.

“It’s great, everyone is great, organization is awesome,” Wilson added. “It’s fun. I love playing here.”

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB