Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson extension an overpay

Tom Wilson got his fat contract and the Washington Capitals finished their offseason work. An expensive deal that is risky for the Caps.

The Washington Capitals and Tom Wilson came to terms Friday night on a six-year extension worth $31 million. The hard-hitting forward will have a salary cap hit of $5.17 million through 2024.

Gulp.

Although it is nice, the Caps are committed to stability, this is a blatant overpay. Yes, Wilson is 24 and coming off a breakout year. His physical presence intimidates opponents and exacts revenge for anyone looking at Alex Ovechkin or T.J. Oshie the wrong way.

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Say anything to Nicklas Backstrom aside from “nice goal?” Wilson is there to set you straight.

But at $5.17 million for over a half-decade? That is steep, especially when Washington held all the cards. Wilson did not seek arbitration and no other team even sniffed with an offer sheet. At that money, you know why.

The length of the deal works. Washington bought out Wilson’s remaining restricted free agency seasons and have him well into his true open market years. From that standpoint, the Caps wanted stability and paid for it.

Boy, did they ever pay for it.

For this year, they carry the third-highest payroll in the league at $78.4 million. The contract cuts the remaining salary cap to $1.1 million. Washington has five restricted free agents after the season and five unrestricted including Brooks Orpik and Devante Smith-Pelly.

Andre Burakovsky is the highest-paid restricted free agent on the list for Washington. Does Christian Djoos not get a raise either? That is a bunch of talent to haul back in with maybe $5-6 million in additional room. Sorry, Brett Connolly.

Wilson, who made $2 million last year, deserved a raise. He broke through his reputation of being a one-dimensional policeman. His 35 points were a career-high and his Stanley Cup performance boosted his profile.

But, he is making $1.6 million more than Lars Eller and Eller has five years left on his deal.

The Caps bought potential with this deal. They hope Wilson will cut the stupid misconducts buying him in-season vacation time. General Manager Brian MacLellan figures Wilson’s offense will continue growing. Perhaps a 50-point forward?

It is not unreasonable to expect Tom Wilson to continue maturing into an all-around force. But, the Washington Capitals dearly paid big money for a project in need of polish. At the end, this could be a steal. Right now, this is a reach.