Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson suspension reduced to 14 games
The controversial Washington Capitals winger had his 20 game suspension reduced to 14 games by neutral arbitrator Shyam Das on Tuesday.
The latest chapter in the saga of Tom Wilson finally came to a close on Tuesday, when the Washington Capitals winger had his 20 game suspension reduced by six games by neutral arbitrator Shyam Das.
The Capitals have already played 16 games on the season, meaning that Wilson has already missed two of the games he would have been eligible for. However, he will be able to get back the money he forfeited for those six games, even though he did not play in them.
Independent arbitrator has reduced #caps Tom Wilson's suspension from 20 games to 14. Wilson gets back $378,048 in lost salary. Eligible to play immediately, but effectively a 16-game suspension because the process took so long from Sept. 30 (!) hit.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 13, 2018
Wilson will be eligible to return for Washington in Tuesday evening’s game against the red-hot Minnesota Wild. Of course, it is possible that the coaching staff elects to sit him out for a few more games until he can get back up to game speed.
This is the outcome of Wilson’s second appeal on his suspension after commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the 20 games last month. In a 42 page ruling, Das agreed that the hit was illegal, but not with the extent of the suspension.
Reading the Shyam Das decision, he seemed to agree the hit was a violation of Rule 48, but disagreed with Parros's rationale for 20 games. So, it got reduced to 14.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 13, 2018
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While there are undoubtedly going to be some hockey fans that are not happy about this ruling, the decision is not entirely unexpected. Das is the same arbitrator who cut the Nashville Predators‘ Austin Watson‘s suspension for domestic violence from 27 games to 18.
This is great news for the Washington Capitals, who have gotten off to a rocky start defending their Stanley Cup championship without Wilson. The rugged winger was signed to a six year, 31-million dollar contract extension in the offseason, and was expected to play a big role on the team.
During last season’s playoffs, the Washington first line of Wilson, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov was a nuisance for the opposition. With the suspension, that right-wing spot has been in a state of flux, seeing replacements ranging from Jakub Vrana to Dmitrij Jaskin.
In Sunday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, Capitals head coach Todd Reirden elected to shake up the top six, putting Ovechkin with Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie. It will be interesting to see where he does end up slotting Wilson in now that he is eligible to return.
While Wilson’s return certainly helps the team, they still have other issues to take care of. Their defense has been poor to start the year, and their special teams have been on a downward trajectory. Wilson will have to play at a high level to help Washington turn that around.
With regards to Wilson himself, the hope is that this suspension, which was still quite the lengthy one, will force him to play a safer style. While his aggression is an asset, he has crossed the line into illegal territory too often in recent memory.
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It will be interesting to see what this means for the league’s suspension policy going forward. Two of their longest suspensions in recent history have now been cut significantly by the same neutral arbitrator. The NHL may have to overcompensate in their suspensions to mitigate such reductions.
The effects of this decision will be of great importance going forward, both in this season and beyond. For now, however, Tom Wilson is back, and the Washington Capitals have to be ecstatic to have him.