There’s been little talk about it in the media, but Tom Wilson will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season. Wilson, who was a core member of the 2018 Stanley Cup championship team, is going into the final year of a six-year, $31 million contract where he makes $5.16 million per season.
On Saturday, after just completing his tenth season in the NHL, Wilson was asked if he had an interest in remaining with the Capitals long-term.
The 29-year-old right wing is eligible to sign a new extension starting on July 1, the first day of unrestricted free agency.
“I’m not a guy that’s going to play hardball and say that I don’t want to be here,” Wilson said. “Everyone knows I want to be here. No matter what happens, I want to help this city win games.
“Obviously, there’s a business part of it where things can happen, different outside things whether it’s me or the team, shit happens – you never know. But for me, I can’t imagine playing for another team. I don’t want that to happen. Weirder things have happened. It’s part of the game and being an athlete, but I like it here and hopefully, it sorts itself out.”
Long considered future captain material, Wilson is seen as a bridge between the team’s older core and young players that will take this team into the future after Alex Ovechkin retires.
“I think the leadership and the group of guys is second to none around the league,” Wilson said. “Different guys can come in and complement that or add to that. There’s going to be a second wave of what we need, younger guys coming and pulling their weight and adding and complementing the core that’s getting a little bit older. I’ll probably be a hybrid of that in the middle.”
Wilson, who missed the first 42 games of the season due to offseason ACL surgery, remains a reliable goal scorer, physical presence, and game-changing player despite being less than a year removed from the injury. Wilson scored 13 goals and posted 22 points in 33 games.
“The last month or so I felt really good,” Wilson said. “I’m excited to have four months here to get back to train properly and get back to where I need to be. Come September I’ll have a clear mind and I’ll be ready to go.
“Even when you come back from an ACL, you get through a game, you’re still recovering,” Wilson added. “The next morning you’re sore. You play a back-to-back, you’re sore. It’s always on your mind a little bit. Yeah, I was able to play well on the ice but it’s still in your head. Hopefully, I’m at the point in September, a year plus where you’re feeling really good and you’re not thinking about it anymore.”
The Capitals are entering the summer with a lot of question marks. The team will have a new head coach after Peter Laviolette was let go on Friday. There likely will be a lot of turnover on the roster as the team fully re-tools after missing the postseason for the first time in nine years.
“I think if, who knows what’s going to happen this summer going into next year, I think if I do my job and we start winning games and the team’s playing well, there’s not going to be a lot of question marks,” Wilson said. “You’re in the playoffs, if you’re playing well, things take care of themselves.”
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
