Capitals winger suspended six games for high-sticking

Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson has received a six-game suspension for high-sticking Noah Gregor of the Toronto Maple Leafs, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Wilson earned a double-minor penalty on the play, which saw him one-handed swing his stick across his body and into Gregor’s face. He was offered an in-person hearing, making him eligible for a suspension longer than five games.

This marks the sixth suspension of Wilson’s career, placing him in elite company among the NHL’s most-suspended players – a list led by Chris Pronger (seven suspensions) and Brad Marchand (eight suspensions). Wilson will have spent a combined 36 games suspended once he’s done with this absence – including his preseason suspension in 2017 and the reduction of his 20-game suspension in 2018 to 14 games. He’s already forfeited $1.4M in salary in the face of Department of Player Safety punishment and will likely face an additional fine for his hit on Gregor.

Despite his long history of punishment and the fact that he’s spent all 746 games of his career in one place, Wilson hasn’t yet earned the title of most-penalized Washington Capital. That instead belongs to the infamous Dale Hunter, who managed 2,003 penalty minutes in 872 games with the Capitals, in addition to 1,562 penalty minutes in 535 games with other teams. Fellow DOPS-favorite Scott Stevens also ranks ahead of Wilson in all-time penalty minutes, earning 1,628 in just 601 games with the Capitals. Both Hunter (2) and Stevens (14) rank in the top-15 of all-time penalty minutes.