Tom Wilson turned down Arber Xhekaj's invitation to drop the gloves Wednesday night, and the Capitals forward did it with a cold line about ice time.
Marc-André Perreault, working between the benches for Prime Video, relayed the exchange on TVA Sports, according to HabsolumentFan.
The Canadiens defenseman invited Wilson to come dance, adding a few colorful words along the way.
The Capitals veteran answered that Xhekaj wasn't on the ice often enough for him to catch, a direct dig at the defenseman's playing time.
Call it cowardly if you want. It was also the smartest move on the ice, because Wilson got the last word without spending five minutes in the box.
It's like getting challenged in a parking lot and answering by asking whether the other guy is even on the guest list.
Xhekaj logged 14:16 that night, while Wilson played 17:13.
In the name of hockey's nebulous “code,” Xhekaj tried to convince the towering Washington Capitals forward to answer for his actions after hitting Juraj Slafkovsky, accidentally or otherwise.
Marc-André Perreault was between the benches for the first time in his career. He caught snippets of the exchange between the two men.
“He said, ‘You motherf-er, come dance.' Wilson replied, ‘You're not on the ice often enough to catch me,'” Mapper recounted during his segment on the daily show *JiC*.
“What a coward!” host Jean-Charles Lajoie exclaimed. “Where's the code when it matters? He [Wilson] pisses everyone off and throws hits without a second thought.”
Here is, once again, the hit :
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Juraj Slafkovsky took the contact that started it all
It began when Slafkovsky took a check from Ivan Miroshnichenko, then absorbed extra contact to the head area from Wilson as he passed by, according to the report.
Perreault said the veteran had plenty of room to adjust his path and avoid the contact.
TVA Sports host Jean-Charles Lajoie called the response cowardly, arguing Wilson plays hard without answering for it.
Slafkovsky played 19:40 and put 4 shots on goal in the 5-4 loss.
He has 3 points on a $7,600,000 cap hit.
Xhekaj is still looking for his first point on a $1,500,000 deal, and the Flyers have been linked to him.
Wilson has 5 points on a $6,540,000 cap hit.
Miroshnichenko also scored a power-play goal in the game, in his first appearance of the season, and Lane Hutson had a goal and an assist for Montreal.
Montreal is 3-3-1 and hosts Buffalo on Saturday, while Washington hosts New Jersey that afternoon.
Does Xhekaj get his chance when these teams meet again?
The next meeting is Jan. 19 in Washington. Xhekaj has three months to remember, and he doesn't strike anyone as the forgetting type.
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Was Tom Wilson right to turn down Arber Xhekaj?
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