Tom Wilson is the heart and soul of the Washington Capitals, said everyone, over and over, correctly.
By the Numbers
33
Goals
36
Assists
81
Games played
19
Minutes per game
On-ice percentages
51%
Shot attempts
53%
Expected goals
56%
Actual goals
Isolated Impact by HockeyViz
About this visualization: This image by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows how the player has impacted play when on the ice. At the top of the image is the team’s offense (even strength at left, power play at right) and at bottom is the team’s defense (with penalty kill at bottom right). In each case, red/orange blobs mean teams shoot for more from that location on the ice, and blue/purple means less. In general, a good player should have red/orange blobs near the opponent’s net at top, and blue/purple blobs near their own team’s net at bottom. The distributions in middle show how the player compares to league average at individual finishing, setting up teammates to score, and taking and drawing penalties. The number at center is Synthetic Goals: a catch-all number for the player’s impact.
Player Card by All Three Zones
About this player card: This image from Corey Sznajder of All Three Zones shows how the player compares to league averages in different microstats in the defensive, neutral, and offensive zones. Blue bars mean the player has a higher rate in that statistic compared to league average, and orange means a lower rate. The numbers are Z-scores, also known as standard deviations, indicating how far the number is from league average, where more than two standard deviations means the player is on the extreme edge of the league.
Player Card by Evolving Hockey
About this player card: This card from Josh and Luke of Evolving Hockey compares the player to league averages based on their impact on on-ice statistics. GAR means “goals above replacement,” where “replacement” means an average player called up from the AHL. xGAR is the same figure but assuming league-average goaltending. The numbers at top are the player’s percentile ranks overall and then for offense and defense alone.
Player Overview by NHL Edge
About this visualization: The NHL’s advanced statistics program, Edge, tracks player and puck movement. At left are the player’s numbers in various statistics along with the average number for that same stat among players of the same position and the player’s percentile rank in it. At right is a radar chart for various statistics, where the bigger the shape the better the player performs in those measures.
Fan Happiness Survey
About this visualization: At three times during the season, RMNB conducted an open survey with readers, asking the following question for each player: “On a scale from 1 to 5, how HAPPY are you to have this player on the team?” The numbers above show the average score for the player in each survey period.
Slavoj Žižek on Wilson
I think that the purpose of Wilson is not to provide hits, sniff, but to show how the way we conceive of hits is itself the problem.
Peter’s Take
I mentioned this in the PLD review, but I’ve got to say it again: Tom Wilson was the most improved player in the NHL in 2024-25, according to Goals Above Replacement. Actually, he had the biggest year-to-year improvement in that stat of any player in the last three seasons. Just a couple years after having question marks over his career, Wilson is a bona fide all-star. Or at least he would have been if there were an all-star game. There was a 4 Nations Face-off, though, and he was a notorious Team Canada snub at the 4 Nations Face-off, so maybe they know something I don’t.
If there is something to take away from Wilson, it’s that his success this season mostly came in his time with Dubois.
| Wilson | TOI | Attempt% | xG% | Goal% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With PLD | 651 | 51.8 | 54.7 | 59.2 |
| Without PLD | 496 | 48.2 | 50.3 | 51.4 |
But that doesn’t bother me too much. Wilson’s time away from PLD was usually time with Ovechkin — where the underlying numbers are never quite as strong for the reasons I agonized over last week. Everyone does great with Dubois, but that doesn’t mean Wilson must be a passenger. He’s not. And he has improved his game in every way I can think of.
He’s hitting less than ever (and hitting better than ever), and he’s shooting more than he hits.
For the first time in his career, Tom Wilson shoots more than he hits
— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett.net) 2025-02-09T14:52:41.328Z
At age 31, he’s still quick. Any concerns you (read: me) might have had about his ACL injury should be fully gone by now. His on-ice attempt rate has never been higher; opponent expected-goal rates against him are at a five-year low. He’s always involved deep in the Caps zone, and he’s always a threat in the opponent’s crease. A genuine 200-foot player.
Two years ago, some joker wrote an article on RMNB imagining a Nylander-Wilson trade. No way the Leafs would make that trade, Toronto declaimed. Today, the Caps wouldn’t make that trade. No way.
I’ve been resisting saying this for years, but eff it, I’m saying it: Future Captain.
Tommy on RMNB
Tom Wilson now full-time alternate captain for Capitals, Dylan Strome part of leadership group
- Wilson was very communicative with Ryan Leonard and Andrew Cristall last year.
- Matt Rempe declined to fight Tom Wilson after he hurt Trevor van Riemsdyk. He said he didn’t see the benefit.
- He started the season with a three-game goal streak.
- Actually, five goals in four games. Quoting Ovi: “You can see he’s feeling it right now. Hottest guy in the league, so happy for him.” That’s bait, Ovi.
- Remember when we thought he’d make Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-off? Fools.
- He got another in March.
- Jakub Chychrun injured Wilson with a puck in December.
- Wilson had a very swollen face. He scored twice anyway.
- “Quagmire.” Personally, I wouldn’t.
- Thompson on Wilson playing through that injury: “That’s for sure the hardest thing I’ve seen.”
- He broke a sinus bone.
- Then Wilson high-sticked Martin Fehervary in the face.
- Wilson’s least favorite opponents? “Those little guys” like Quinn Hughes. Okay, rude.
- Wilson and Rasmus Andersson had a fun debate.
- On fighting less: “It’s one of those things where if I didn’t have to sit in the box for five minutes, sometimes a lot more if you don’t get a whistle, I just want to be on the ice now.”
- jk here’s a fight: Tom Wilson vs. Brady Tkachuk
- He scored a classic OTGWG at MSG.
- That game featured another confrontation with Matt Rempe, who was bumping into Ovechkin. Wilson doesn’t like when guys are bumping into Ovechkin.
- Got 20 stitches after taking another puck to the face.
- Then he got in a fight anyway. Won it.
- Strome on Wilson, on the occasion of his first 30-goal season: “He’s one of the premier players in the league. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I mean, the way he penalty kills, he plays on the power play, physical. Great teammate, great guy to have around the room. So I think he can really do it all. And well-earned.”
- Wilson got a point on 895.
Tom Wilson named Capitals’ nominee for 2025 King Clancy Trophy
- He and Josh Anderson tried to fight between periods. The league does not like that. There was a brawl.
- Don’t worry. They hugged after the series.
- On himself: “I should probably just shut up sometimes.“
- Habs goalie on Wilson’s hit on Alex Carrier: “I guess the rules don’t apply for everyone in this league.”
- That hit was arguably the turning point of that series.
- Cole Hutson wants to play with Wilson.
- I will not be discussing the lucky egg.
- Duhaime on Wilson: “He does it all. We’ve been praising him all year. I think his head’s getting a little big, but yeah. He’s the heart of the team. He drives the bus every night for us. He’s physical. He dominates pucks and he scores big goals, makes big plays for us.”
- Banned in NC.
- Maybe don’t mock the storm surge next time.
Your Turn
How long until he gets the C?
So ends the Season Review series. Now I will tell you what the attributes mean:
- Strength: individual scoring
- Intelligence: passing and playmaking
- Speed: skating speed (sorry, goalies)
- Endurance: games played
- Personality: penalties
- Luck: Peter’s choice
No one is unintelligent on the Caps — at least not in the hockey sense. I hope you didn’t take these scores seriously. Last year there was a dysentery score.
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