The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced supplemental discipline for Tom Wilson on Friday.
Wilson will miss the Washington Capitals’ next six games due to high-sticking Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor in the face. Wilson was assessed a four-minute double minor for high-sticking in the 7-3 loss on Wednesday.
The league announced Wilson’s suspension hours before the Capitals play the Carolina Hurricanes. The Capitals called up Matthew Phillips from the AHL’s Hershey Bears earlier in the day anticipating Wilson’s absence.
Wilson was offered an in-person hearing on Thursday allowing the NHL to suspend him six games or more. Wilson opted to do the hearing over Zoom and was on the ice for the Capitals’ morning skate.
Per the NHL’s release:
Capitals’ Wilson Suspended Six Games for High-Sticking
NEW YORK (March 22, 2024) – Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has been suspended for six games, without pay, for high-sticking Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor during NHL Game No. 1095 in Washington on Wednesday, March 20, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 12:13 of the third period. Wilson was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Wilson will forfeit $161,458.32. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
In a video explainer, Player Safety said that Wilson “is accountable for the dangerous result of the play which is the direct and forceful blow to an opponent’s head via a player with a substantial track record of supplemental discipline.”
DoPS adds, “While we acknowledge Wilson’s assertion that he did not mean to strike Gregor in the face, the fact remains that Wilson’s stick is drawn back behind him, then swung forcefully and recklessly into his opponent. This is not a case in which two players are fully engaged in influencing in each other’s actions nor is it a case in which a player is off balance and his stick swings during an attempt to regain his footing. Wilson’s actions on this play are fully under his own control.”
Wilson has gone without being suspended for over three years, putting him just outside of the NHL’s repeat offender window. His last suspension came on March 5, 2021, when Wilson was suspended seven games for boarding Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo.
Today’s suspension marks Wilson’s sixth in his career, forcing him out of 36 total games. His longest ban from Player Safety, a 20-game suspension, came during the 2018 preseason after he laid a high hit on St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist. A neutral arbitrator eventually reduced the suspension to 14 games.
The 29-year-old forward has also been fined three times in his career. Wilson’s most recent dock in pay ($5,000) came after the infamous Horrifying Act Of Violence game against the New York Rangers in May of 2021.
Wilson will miss games against the Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres. He’ll be eligible to return against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 4.
The Capitals will be down one of their most integral forwards while they enter an important stretch that determines their postseason fate. As of Friday, the team is three points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Wilson ranks third on the team in goals (17) and fourth in points (32).
