Brian MacLellan

Tom Wilson’s extension will likely make him the next captain after Alex Ovechkin and makes it possible he retires a Capital

August is usually not a time for huge NHL contracts to get signed, but the Washington Capitals flipped the script on Friday, inking Tom Wilson to a seven-year, $45.5 million extension.

Wilson was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and he would have generated headlines all next season up until the trade deadline — regardless if he were actually available or not. With the agreement, Wilson and Capitals GM Brian MacLellan avoided those headaches by hammering out a long-term pact that both sides were comfortable with.

With his new $6.5 million annual average salary, the 29-year-old Wilson will get nearly a $1.5 million raise, not much of a bump from his current $5.16 million cap hit considering the NHL salary cap is likely to rise in coming years. It’s about as much of a hometown discount as you could expect from a game-changing player who can play in all situations and who helped lead the team to its only Stanley Cup in 2018 as a first-line winger.

Wilson has been open about the fact that he loves the DC area and wants to stay. He has settled down here with his wife Taylor and pup Halle. Tom is beloved by Capitals fans, often drawing as much or more interest in RMNB stories than Alex Ovechkin. Locally, Wilson has invested his time and money into local businesses like BASH Boxing and has become a marketable star with a natural charisma and a large following.

On the Capitals’ side, the contract extension is symbolic in five different ways.

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