3 reasons we’ve yet to see the best of Tom Wilson
It’s been a week since the Washington Capitals re signed Tom Wilson. Whether they make a trade or not between now and training camp remains to be seen. But before we talk about that in future content, let’s take another look at the Wilson deal.
Here are 3 reasons why we’ve yet to see the best of Tom Wilson:
#3 Team player
It’s no secret that Alex Ovechkin has just three years left on his contract. What will he do after the 2025 26 season? He turns 38 this September and he’ll be 40 entering that final year of his contract.
If he chooses to retire, Tom Wilson is next in line to be team captain. If he joins another team or the KHL, Wilson is still captain. If Ovechkin sticks it out with the Caps for a little bit longer who knows! But Wilson is here to stay through 2030 31.
Ovechkin has served as captain in Washington since 2010 and is under contract for three more seasons. But Wilson’s extension begs the question: Will he succeed Ovechkin as captain after No. 8 hangs up the skates? Of course, there’s no guarantee that Ovechkin will retire following the 2025-26 campaign — his age 40 season — but if he does, it would surprise almost no one if Wilson got the “C” ahead of the 2026-27 season. Wilson has on occasion served as an alternate captain in recent years. — El-Bashir
#2 A better summer
Last year Tom Wilson had to spend his summer rehabbing from what turned out to be a torn ACL where he didn’t appear in the Caps lineup until January. This summer, he is training like it’s a normal offseason.
He told the media:
“It’s way better. I’m feeling really good. The injury was tough. It was a tough year. But you get to that 12-month mark and beyond, and it’s in the rear view. I don’t focus on it at all anymore. I’m just going about my training like I would any other summer. That’s really allowed me to have fun in the gym again and get after it and get strong and work hard and focus on the things that will prepare me for the season (and) not necessarily just kind of rehabbing.”
Wilson had 13 goals and and nine assists last season for 24 points. He could’ve averaged at least 55 points or more had he played a full 82 game season last year.
Now we get a healthy Tom Wilson that promises to play his best hockey yet.
#1 He’s here to stay
Wilson and his agent wanted to get a deal done after getting an early taste of the pressure that comes with entering a contract year.
Some say that taste came in the summer. Others say it started around the trade deadline. But Wilson and his agent did what had to be done.
“We got a little taste this summer of how crazy it can get. I’ve been around long enough that you see some of these contract years and you see some of the distraction and, as the year goes along, all the stuff that can come up. I wanted to get rid of that, not have to worry about that. I knew I wanted to be here for as long as I could and the team expressed the same. It just makes it easier to get it out of the way now so it doesn’t have to be a distraction.”
Now that they can put those trade rumor distractions and the contract year up in the rearview mirror expect Wilson to have a big season coming up where he could score around 25 to 30 goals. Especially because unlike last year, he enters this year healthy.
light. Related Story. Breaking down everything you need to know about Tom Wilson’s contract extension
These are the 3 reasons why we’ve yet to see the best of Tom Wilson. And the fact he hasn’t even reached his ceiling yet is scary to the rest of the league.