Tom Wilson donned a letter on his sweater for the Washington Capitals in preseason action against the Boston Bruins, Tuesday night. The rugged winger was chosen by Spencer Carbery to be one of the team’s three alternate captains, joining Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson with captain Alex Ovechkin not dressing.
Wilson signed a seven-year contract extension this past summer and the common thought is, the Toronto native is the captain-in-waiting after Ovechkin retires.
pair of A's pic.twitter.com/zHILqH8rQl
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 3, 2023
Wilson has sported an ‘A’ on his jersey on a handful of occasions in the past, doing so in regular season games under former head coach Peter Laviolette against both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes. He also wore it during a 2019 preseason game under Todd Reirden and a 2016 preseason game under Barry Trotz.
Behind-the-scenes, Wilson has long been viewed as captain material and a player to whom prospects and young players go for advice. Wilson has naturally taken to the role as he also came up through a veteran Caps locker room during his first forays into the NHL as a teenager.
“You could see the raw physicality and the skating,” goaltender Braden Holtby said in 2020. “But he was also one of those guys that once he got here, even when he was a rookie, you could tell that he was meant to be a captain in this league.
“He’s evolved as a player over the years,” Holtby added, “but those intangibles, he had them right from day one.”
Wilson’s extension will see him remain a Capital through 2031 where he will be 37 years old by that season’s end.
“Tom possesses all the intangibles needed to win in this league and we are extremely pleased to sign him to a long-term contract, giving him the opportunity to finish his career in a Capitals’ uniform,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in that signing’s press release.
Wilson assisted on the Capitals’ first goal of the game on Tuesday and later scored his own as the trigger man in the bumper position of the team’s power play setup.
Tom on a Tuesday pic.twitter.com/JfVsqnV34J
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 3, 2023
Screenshot: Monumental Network
