Logan Thompson and Tom Wilson are friendly adversaries in the Washington Capitals’ locker room. The two future Canadian Olympians have gone back and forth with pranks and sarcastic barbs since Thompson arrived on the team from the Vegas Golden Knights in 2024.
That continued as Thompson made an appearance on Sportsnet’s After Hours, Saturday night. Thompson was asked about the goalie mask he wears for the Capitals’ third-jersey nights, which features Wilson’s massively swollen face on the back plate.
“Yeah, I always was joking with him last year, ‘Yeah, I’ll get you on a mask, I’ll get you on a mask,'” Thompson said. “And then I remember this year, one of my masks was done, and he made a comment on Instagram saying, ‘Oh, I thought I was supposed to be on your next mask.’
“So that was the last mask that we had to do for my third. So I said, ‘Well, let’s throw Tom on there, and let’s throw his – he’s got a pretty big head anyway, but let’s throw it when it’s a little swollen.'”
Thompson has worn the mask seven different times this season and will have the opportunity to don it in five more games on the schedule. He debuted it against the New Jersey Devils on November 15 in a 3-2 shootout loss.
Wilson, normally handsome, looked grotesque in Thompson’s chosen portrait, painted by renowned mask artist Dave Fried and stemming from a memorable night in Montreal on December 7, 2024.
During that game, Wilson was struck in the face by a Jakob Chychrun shot during the first period. The Capitals’ alternate captain went down to the locker room, but returned minutes later with his cheek beginning to swell to the size of a tennis ball.
Not only did the team’s alternate captain just return to the game, but he scored twice in the third period — the game-tying and game-winning goals — to give the Capitals a 4-2 comeback victory.
“Yeah, he came back, and I think he scored the game-winner,” Thompson said. “I think it’s one of my favorite masks for sure. I’m going to keep that back plate forever.”
Thompson has worn the mask seven different times this season and will have the opportunity to don it in five more games on the schedule. He debuted it against the New Jersey Devils on November 15 in a 3-2 shootout loss.
Thompson was also asked why he had chosen Wilson as his number-one target in the Capitals’ locker room. The two self-proclaimed “best buds” were never teammates at any level before Thompson got traded to the Caps.
“It’s just really easy to get under his skin,” Thompson said. “For a big, tough guy, I always think he’s pretty soft. So it’s easy to egg him on a little bit. I don’t think I’d ever fight him, but it’s definitely easy. It’s fun to get him going for sure.”
Thompson’s “egg” reference, by the way, comes nearly a year after the goaltender is believed to have put a literal egg in Wilson’s locker during the playoffs, featuring a name-and-smiley-face drawing that ended up on Wilson’s helmet earlier that season, which Thompson took the blame for.
The two wisecrackers are both signed with the Capitals through the 2030-31 season, so Thompson will have plenty more time to test Wilson’s patience. They will head to Italy and play for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics early next month, when the NHL pauses for three weeks.
“Not too much Italian food, okay?” Wilson told Thompson during a recent press conference.
“I’ll keep it tight,” Thompson responded.
