The worst part about report cards is when you have to grade a player when their season ends early and won’t be back on the ice for a while. That will be the case for Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson. We won’t see him on the ice in games for about six to eight months.
But before the injury Wilson had his best season statistically. He had a career high 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points. He had a goal in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against the Florida Panthers before suffering a lower body injury on an unfortunate hit.
Wilson’s lower body injury turned out to be his left ACL. He played just 1:31 in the entire series. In the regular season, the 28 year old averaged 18:35 minutes of ice time with a plus minus of plus 13.
He was drafted by the Capitals 10 years ago today so it’s fitting we’re grading his season on this day. He played in 647 games in his career with the Capitals scoring 115 goals and 273 points.
Wilson has a cap hit of $5.167 million and two years left on his contract. He was a key contributor in the Caps run to the Cup and has lived rent free in opponents heads for the last several seasons.
The Caps are going to miss Wilson but his cap hit coming off the books along with Nicklas Backstrom’s could help them make a splash when the offseason really hits. But now the Caps need a reliable first line right winger at least to start the season.
They also need someone to play on both sides of the ice in special teams, something Wilson contributed to on a nightly basis. The crazy part was he’s been spotted around limping but still skated after practices during the playoffs even though he was out for the remainder.
Grade A+: Wilson had a career year and it’s really a shame he got hurt. It was a big blow to the Caps that resulted in another first round exit. While he endures a hard summer, he can feel good knowing he got an A plus.