The Washington Capitals opened a lot of eyes on Friday night when they awarded Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson a six-year $31 million contract. The new deal shocked a lot of fans and a surprising detail might cause some to get a little dizzy. According to Charting Hockey’s Sean Tierney, Wilson is now earning more than the average first-line winger.
So obviously there are some players on rookie deals that need to be taken into account, but Wilson will be earning more than some notable veteran wingers next year including forwards Nikita Kucherov and Jonathan Marchessault, to name a few.
Wilson’s lack of offensive production has been the root of this entire debate. The 24-year-old is coming off of his best year in which he recorded just 35 points in 82 games, but a strong playoffs definitely helped his case, after scoring 5 goals and 10 assists in 21 games while playing on the Caps' top line alongside Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Plus, his physical presence isn’t something that should be ignored either.
Whether you like it or not, it’s looking as though Wilson will be wearing a Capitals unifrom for a long, long time.
(H/T r/Hockey)
