{"id":30401,"date":"2018-07-27T21:10:51","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T01:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=30401"},"modified":"2018-07-27T22:50:23","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T02:50:23","slug":"washington-capitals-re-sign-tom-wilson-to-long-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/07\/27\/washington-capitals-re-sign-tom-wilson-to-long-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Capitals Re-Sign Tom Wilson to Long-Term Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals<\/a> re-signed restricted free agent right wing Tom Wilson<\/a><\/strong> to a six-year contract worth $31 million, or $5.167 million per season AAV. This contract carries him through the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n

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NEWS | Capitals re-sign forward Tom Wilson to a six-year contract worth an average annual value of $5.17 million https:\/\/t.co\/8DVbI8QV1i<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 28, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tom Wilson Re-Signs With Washington\u00a0Capitals<\/h1>\n

Wilson has spent his entire five-year NHL career with Washington. Originally drafted by the Capitals in the 1st round, 16th overall of the 2012 NHL Draft, great things were expected from Ontario native. However, he initially fell short of expectations. Clearly,\u00a0the intimidating forward struggled to find his role in the team.<\/p>\n

Last season. Wilson\u00a0found a better balance<\/a>. It was his most productive season as he put\u00a0up 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points. Almost doubling statistics from the 2016-17 season. However,\u00a0the 24-year-old’s growing reputation\u00a0preseeds him adding a whopping\u00a0187 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 50.4 percent Corsi\u00a0and a relative Corsi of 3.1. This added largely to Wilson’s 35 career goals with 69 assists, totalling 104 career points.<\/p>\n

The Capitals winger continued this productive streak into the playoffs with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 21 games as the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

What This Means for the Future<\/h2>\n

Wilson has almost certainly created much attention in his short career span. However, love him or hate him, the 6-foot-4 forward has been pivotal\u00a0to Washington’s success this year.\u00a0 Although the role of “enforcer” has been a controversial topic, there is no denying that playing next to greats such as Alex Ovechkin<\/a><\/strong> and Evgeny Kuznetsov<\/strong><\/a> has formed a well-oiled machine, one that new Capitals coach <\/a>Todd Rierden<\/a><\/b>will be unlikely to mess with this coming season.<\/p>\n

The Capitals are a tough, hard-hitting team. They are also notoriously hard for players to find a divined role within it. Wilson is beginning\u00a0to find his way and will only develop further in this highly-skilled team.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>