Grading the Tom Wilson extension

We have one last final last Tom Wilson article about the extension. It’s time to grade the Washington Capitals latest move to lock in the forward now and for the future.

Wilson was eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1 and they spent weeks negotiating before agreeing to a seven year deal worth $45.5 million. That keeps him in Washington through the 2030-31 season.

That’s also three years longer than anyone else that’s currently signed with the Caps.

Brian MacLellan told the media in a joint zoom conference:

“Tom creates a lot of attention and this past offseason, it was creating attention about future contracts or possibilities about being traded. So it was a priority for us to get him signed and come to an agreement and (make him) a big part of our organization going forward.”

Before the negotiations really began to heat up, Wilson saw all the trade rumors online. Wilson said:

“A couple of times I just texted my agent and was like, ‘What’s going on?’ He was obviously able to talk to Mac and kind of reassure me that all was good.”

MacLellan added:

“I talked to his agent regularly when (the rumors) were coming out just to assure him that wasn’t the case, that people were creating a false narrative out there. Still, it’s a little unnerving when you hear your name — I’m assuming it is — and I tried to assure Tom and his representatives that it wasn’t the case.”

Grade A+: The Caps did the right thing getting this deal done now. There’s already going to be enough attention on the team this season as Alex Ovechkin chases and gets closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record and the Caps navigate a return back to the playoffs under a new coach.

Wilson will be a big part of the Capitals future and locking him in until 2031 was the right call.