I absolutely would not like him if he was on my team. I've been to hundreds of Islanders games over the last (almost) 50 years, and I can probably count the number of times I've cheered for a fight on the fingers of one hand (Gillies vs. Schultz and Gillies vs. O'Reilly being the two I remember most). I have never cheered when an Islander did something dirty. I found the dirty play of people like Rich Pilon, Chris Simon, and Mick Vukota totally distasteful, but again, at least I could see that that was the only way they could stay in the league (I was still happy when the Islanders got rid of them). Wilson is a latter-day Dale Hunter, another player who in my mind should be ashamed of his needlessly dirty play throughout his career (the fact that the Caps retired Hunter's number is to me an appallingly black mark against the franchise).
I can't speak for you, of course, but what I mean is I think you would like the other aspects of Wilson. I don't cheer for fighting either. It is a waste of time. I don't like cheap or dirty hits either. Wilson brings other skills to the table though and is a solid leader. Plus he brings energy to the team. The Capitals are better with him on the ice, rather than off of it. That is what I mean by you would be able to cheer for him and like him, as I do. I never cheer or approve of dirty plays or fights in general.
I have no problem with the fighting. Mick Vukota and Rich Pilon were goons but I don’t recall them having a rep of running at or cheap shotting other teams skill players. Wilson is just filthy as fuck.
I agree about Vukota and Pilon - I'm just not a fan of thuggery. I got into hockey just as the Bruins and then of course the Flyers made the game all about that instead of skill, and I've never liked it at all. I was thrilled when the Lafleur-era Canadiens knocked that out of the game, and the Islanders and Oilers continued the trend of skill mattering most (which of course has nothing to do with hitting, which is one of the best parts of the game). To me those 15 years or so were the best hockey since the Original Six (I can't comment on that earlier era, since I didn't pay attention to hockey then). Simon was a piece of garbage, and I was thrilled when they dumped him quickly after two ridiculous cheap shots in 2007.
I wasn't sure if prior suspensions would come into play with Tom Wilson since the last one was in 2018, but they did, as he is a repeat offender and was suspended 7 games for his hit in Boston Friday night on Brandon Carlo. That is a lot in a 56 game season. I have seen some fans thinking it was too much and other fans thinking it was not enough. I watched the video the NHL released on the hit, and one of the angles showed the impact Carlo's head had with the glass that I did not realize when I first watched it. That made it worse for me. Hope he is okay. The Caps have to find a way to win without Wilson now, and when he returns he better shape up, because the next suspension might be for a season.
I’m going to be as fair as possible, I thought Wilson had good form with his hit, led with shoulder and never brought up elbow and also cruised into Carlo, unfortunately he should have focused strictly on the body, if he had been a little more controlled and hit the body it would have been clean. He needs to keep the form but focus on hitting the body, if there was an example of an accidental head shot it was this hit. I know Wilson has done some stupid stuff in past but this hit was not in that category. He deserves the suspension but I would say, this is not typical Wilson behavior.
Yeah, I agree 100%. Especially if you watched both Caps-Bruins games. It was a physical 2 games. Bad luck for Wilson and Carlo. The 7 game suspension is not a surprise though. When you have his reputation and history, this kind of stuff happens, and that is on him.
At least Tom Wilson fights his own battles, the Rat Marchand cross checks you in the back of the head then hides behind the Ref or a teammate. Here he cheapshots Lindy and Buch clobbers him
They have been playing flat out pathetic lately, and he clearly lost the team, but the East is a tough division. Even if they were playing the best they possibly could, they would be losing most of their games. Especially with Eichel out.
This seems odd to me. Any NHL fan knows make-up calls happen all the time in the NHL. Now he gets fired for saying that? Seems a little much to me.
More than half of the players on the Canucks have tested positive for COVID-19. While none are reportedly hospitalized, a few are apparently in "rough shape" (getting IVs for dehydration). https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id...ks-players-test-positive-covid-19-source-says Canada is apparently doing a pretty poor job of rolling out the vaccine. Only 12% of Canadians have received at least one dose, compared to more than 30% in the US and 60% in the UK. On one recent day 72,000 shots were administered in Canada, compared to 4 million in the US (that's a ratio of 55 to 1, compared to a population ratio of about 8.5 to 1). The case rate has been steadily rising nationally for the last 4 or 5 weeks, as have been the hospitalization rate and ICU rate. Canada and the UK had virtually the same case rate in mid-March, and now Canada's rate is more than twice that of the UK, where the vaccine rollout has been among the best in the world. I have a friend who lives in Montreal that I spoke to on Friday, and he told me that they're saying that he probably won't be able to get a shot until June. I wonder how this might affect the final two rounds of the playoffs?
Henrik Lundqvist will not be returning this season. A checkup last week revealed inflammation around his heart. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id...eason-goalie-recovery-heart-surgery-continues
Hopefully Lundqvist heals and is able to return this Fall. That would be awesome. Today the Caps traded for Anthony Mantha. Big move for them at the trade deadline. They dumped Vrana and Panik on the Red Wings and gave them a 2021 1st rounder and a 2022 2nd rounder. Hefty price for a hefty player.
I don't really have a problem with it, he just shouldn't have said it if he was mic'd up. Makeup calls exist in all sports whether it's right or wrong. I bought the NHL package for like $60 a month and a half ago and watch all around the league. It happens in literally every other game I watch. I have some coworkers in Canada and they're back into lockdown in the majority of the provinces. The vaccine rollout is an absolute mess.
Tampa and Panthers should be a real good series to watch. As a Canes fan just happy we will not have to get past both of them to make semis.
Yeah, that will be a good one for sure. Tough break for Florida to draw the Champs instantly, but that is hockey!
