Tom Wilson opens up on if he wants to be part of the Washington Capitals rebuild

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Andrew Loftus
April 17, 2023 (9:58)

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For the first time in eight years the Washington Capitals will not participate in the post season this year. It is likely some changes are coming to the team this offseason. One player who wants to finish his career with the Capitals is forward Tom Wilson. Next season is the final year of Wilson's six-year contract that pays him just over $5.1 million per season. Wilson has been hampered with injuries the last season and a half but has been a valuable contributor for multiple seasons. General Manager Brian MacLellan has expressed his desire for Wilson to stay and Wilson himself stated how much he wants to stay in Washington.

I'm not a guy that's going to like play hardball or say that don't want to be here. Everyone knows I love it here and want to be here. No matter what happens, I want to help this city win games and think if who knows what's going to happen over the summer into next year, but think if I do my job and we start winning games and the team's playing well, there's not going to be a lot of question marks. You're in the playoffs, playing well, things take care of themselves. Obviously, there's a business part of it where stuff can happen and different outside things can, whether it's me or the team or whatever, shit happens. You never know. But for me, just can't imagine ever playing for another other team. I don't want that to happen. Weirder things have happened. It's part of the game and it's part of being an athlete. I like it here and hopefully it sorts itself out.

Love him or hate him, Tom Wilson is still a valuable addition to the Capitals. Not only can he contribute offensively, but his physical style of play is also hard to find in today's NHL. It would seem inevitable that Wilson stays in Washington and finishes his career there. Wilson is still only twenty-nine years old and still has some good hockey left in him. Let's hope he can stay healthy during that time. This was one of Wilson's toughest years with Washington as he only skated in thirty three games and only had twenty two points.

Despite Wilson's love for Washington hockey is a business and like we've seen many times before a team could inevitably make the Capitals an offer they can't refuse. The Capitals are in need of a quick retool and they'll have to decide if Tom Wilson is a part of that solution, or are the assets they could return for him far too valuable? A player of Wilson's level could easily a return a deal similar to what Tanner Jeannot received.

POLL
Will Tom Wilson finish his career with the Capitals?
Yes, he'll be a Cap for life	14	25 %
No, he'll be traded	30	53.6 %
No, he'll end up signing somewhere else	12	21.4 %
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