Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson ready for added pressure

With Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson’s new contract comes bigger responsibilities. Here is a closer look at how he can achieve them.

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson woke up Friday morning to the biggest payday of his life. If he thought it was Christmas, you could not have blamed him.

Wilson, 24, owns a shiny six-year, $31 million deal that also comes with a limited no-trade clause. He gets all the trappings of a mid-tier star contract without having shown the goods. At least not in the regular season.

Yes, the Caps gambled, but they also see a forward who can play well both ways. In buying out Wilson’s first four years of unrestricted free agency, they hope he can channel his physical play into Selke consideration.

It is a bet, but not a bad one.

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With two years left of team control, Wilson took the risk of asking for the home run deal now. He did not file for arbitration and rejected Washington’s qualifying offer. Remember, the Caps carried all the leverage. They gave him the biggest boost of confidence you can get as a young player. A fat long-term contract.

Time for him to repay their trust.

As the protector of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, “Top Line Tom’s” job is more than creating offense. By staying healthy, he is a 50-point scorer at least working with those two. They scored 77 combined last year. His point totals will rise.

What Washington paid for is his physicality. Wilson can show his gratitude to the Caps by not taking dumb penalties. It is one thing to fight, both sides lose a man for five minutes and it fires everyone up. However, taking five-minute majors for spearing or boarding, and misconduct penalties, need to stop.

When you give any team, even the Buffalo Sabres, a five-minute power play then bad things happen. In the playoffs, you can tip a series. Another suspension cannot happen.

But, Wilson cannot change his style too much. That is how he earned the contract. Although it is an overpay, he gave every reason for Washington to shell out the money.

For this deal to make everyone happy, Wilson must continue the maturing process he showed last season. Yes, he is there to deliver checks, intimidate others and kill penalties.

But, his ice time must increase to around 19 minutes a night. Wilson must work with Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and John Carlson to create offense. Also, he has to cut down the times Washington is shorthanded.

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The pressure is on Tom Wilson to make this contract work. The Washington Capitals are literally banking on it. Odds are he can.

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