Tom Wilson gets lengthy suspension for boarding

A lot of hockey fans spent at least some of their time on Saturday debating whether Tom Wilson's hit on Brandon Carlo was clean or dirty. The NHL's Department of Player Safety has ruled the hit was not clean, but it wasn't directly due to a hit to the head.

Player Safety summoned Wilson of the Washington Capitals following Friday night's game against the Bruins, but the hearing was called under the Boarding section of the NHL's rulebook. While the official ruling from Player Safety is that the hit makes direct contact to the head, the suspension itself falls under boarding. Wilson has been hammered with a seven game ban. According to Elliotte Friedman while appearing on Hockey Night in Canada, Wilson has received a four game suspension for boarding in the past. Zac Rinaldo has received the highest he could find, getting forced to sit for eight games as a result of a boarding call.

Player Safety said it took everything into account when making this ruling, including Wilson's past, the fact it viewed Carlo as a defenceless player in that position, and that Carlo was injured while determining whether the hit was dirty or not. It acknowledges in its explanation that this could be viewed as a borderline call given different circumstances and players involved, implying Wilson's reputation has factored into this ruling. You can view the full sequence of events below and a link to another video that includes Player Safety's explanation of the ruling.

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