Capitals’ Tom Wilson gets 4-game suspension for boarding
ARLINGTON, Va. — After four seasons of playing on the edge without incurring a suspension, Tom Wilson has now been disciplined twice in less than two weeks and is on notice.
The NHL suspended the Washington Capitals right winger for the first four games of the regular season for boarding St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais in each team’s preseason finale Sunday. Wilson had just been suspended for two exhibition games Sept. 23 for a late hit on Blues rookie Robert Thomas.
“It’s a hard-hitting sport. It’s a fast sport,” Wilson said Tuesday before his hearing with the league’s department of player safety. “That’s obviously part of my game and it always has been. It’s an honest game, it’s a hard-hitting game, it’s a fast game and that’s the way I try and play.”
As a repeat offender, Wilson forfeits $97,561 in salary and will miss games against the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s eligible to return Oct. 13 against the New Jersey Devils.