Tom Wilson hit: NHL Department of Player Safety announces decision

Elliotte Friedman just reported that Capitals forward Tom Wilson will face no supplemental discipline for his boarding major on Sandis Vilmanis.

Wilson was ejected Saturday after a 5-minute major on Vilmanis in Washington's 4-3 win over the Panthers. The game was already tense, and the call split fans before the night was over.

Friedman put the league's position in a single line this morning.

Friedman wrote that he is hearing there will be no supplemental discipline for Wilson.

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So the penalty on the ice is the whole price. Wilson played 2:13 before he was sent to the room, and he finished with 15 PIM. Vilmanis logged 2:07 and went minus-1 in a game Florida lost.

We covered the Tom Wilson boarding major on Sandis Vilmanis right after it happened. Nothing the league has said since changes the facts of that night: the call was a major, and Wilson's day was over.

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Washington's next game is Thursday at New Jersey, and with no discipline coming, Wilson is not expected to miss time over this.

Why boarding calls keep starting arguments

The comment sections were loud within minutes Saturday, and one point kept coming back. Boarding doesn't have to come from behind. Plenty of fans hear the word and picture one specific kind of hit, so anything that doesn't match that picture gets labeled a bad call.

The rule is wider than that. A hit that sends a player into the boards with force can qualify, no matter how it started. That is the argument for the major, and it's a fair one.

Here's where the league's silence gets uncomfortable. Wilson has 45 penalty minutes through 15 games this season, and he has 1694 over 922 career games. A player with that history is going to get the benefit of nothing in the court of public opinion, whatever the Department of Player Safety decides.

My read: if the league saw a major and a game misconduct as enough, it is telling players the on-ice call is the deterrent. That is a hard sell to a Panthers locker room that watched a teammate go into the boards and then lost the game.

Florida plays at Boston today, with Washington off until Thursday. The next time these two teams meet is not in the sheet, but this one will follow Wilson into every game he plays until then.

Quick hits

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Nikita Kucherov's 20 shot attempts in Minnesota last night tied a Lightning franchise record, Benjamin Jones reported this morning. That's a lot of rubber from one player.

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CALGARY FLAMES: Darren Dreger says Craig Conroy might look at a young defenceman or a short-term contract, but the Flames won't simply trade for a fill-in. Patience from the GM, for now.

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INJURY: Pro Hockey Rumors just reported that Bowen Byram won't return to the Blackhawks until he sees a "certain specialist." Chicago has no timeline in that post.

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GOALIE MATCHUP: Boston Hockey Now just reported that Jeremy Swayman is back in net for the Bruins tonight against the Panthers, according to the projected lines.

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WINNIPEG JETS: A post on X this morning says defenseman Elias Salomonsson will be away from the Jets indefinitely for personal reasons. Nothing more is known.

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Also read on Markerzone.com:
Mike Babcock gives update on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins after scary hit