There’s been a HUGE uproar over Tom Wilson’s new contract, and while I understand some of it, I really don’t understand all of it. And while some of it could be due to my own personal biases, I simply cannot fathom some of the main criticisms. ( I understand most of these criticisms are coming from outside the organization, who don’t watch him on a daily basis, but just here me out.)
Let’s set out the facts first: Tom Wilson is 24 years old. He was drafted 16th overall in the 2012 NHL entry draft. His first NHL season was 2013-2014 where he played all 82 games. Tom Wilson’s role with team includes being a top line winger with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, a penalty killer, and an occasional 2nd unit power play player.
One of the main criticisms I have heard and read is that he is not an offensive player, he is a goon, or he doesn’t impact the top line enough.
Yes, he isn’t an offensive player. But the capitals aren’t expecting him to do so. They are expecting him to score 15-20 goals.
Grow up.
This is probably the DUMBEST CRITICISM I have heard. Watch capitals games, you can see just how much he impacts the play of the top-line. Especially by making some players think twice about what plays to make.
I think this contract is one designed not for who Tom Wilson was in 2013-2018, but who he will be 2018 and beyond. Tom Wilson does sooooooooo much for the Capitals locker room. He is a great person, personality, and sound bite. In fact many people that cover the Caps, and people within the organization, believe that; TOM WILSON WILL BE THE NEXT CAPTAIN OF THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS. Or at the very least have a letter on his sweater as soon as one becomes available. And I believe these sentiments to be true.
Now, is everything sunshine and daisies. HELLO NO! This is an example of how winning the Stanley Cup impacts how players get paid. But don’t think he got 5,166,666 because he won a Cup. He would have gotten about 4 million anyway, assuming nothing crazy happening.
All in all, Only the people who watch him a daily basis will understand why he is paid this way. And fans of other teams who simply cannot understand this contract, will understand eventually when a CHARACTER player is paid.
There is no way to put my feelings about this contrat into words, but it makes sense to me, and I hope this helps fans of other teams semi-understand this contract.
TOM WILSON EARNED EVERY PENNY OF HIS CONTRACT, and I am disappointed not everyone sees all we see. I feel like I am rambling here, so i'll stop typing, but
I could come up with a bunch of reasons why Andrew Ladd could be worth his deal. For example, metrics point to him being one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL, but at the end of the day, he's overpaid and is simply not worth his deal.
I love Tom Wilson, and I hope he proves to be worth this contract. He’s a very effective player in his role. But that role should not pay him more than Viktor Arvidsson or Brendan Gallagher or Kyle Palmieri or Chris Kreider.
You can spin it all you want, but that contract is still a mistake. Even if he lives up to that contract, it was still a mistake, because he's done nothing to warrant a contract that size.
Obviously he's a player who has a bigger effect than just points, and that's fine, but you don't give 'energy' players big money contracts, even if you have them playing on the top line. the Leafs wouldn't sign a guy like Zach Hyman to a huge money deal just because he plays with 34-29.
You can spin it all you want, but that contract is still a mistake. Even if he lives up to that contract, it was still a mistake, because he's done nothing to warrant a contract that size.
Obviously he's a player who has a bigger effect than just points, and that's fine, but you don't give 'energy' players big money contracts, even if you have them playing on the top line. the Leafs wouldn't sign a guy like Zach Hyman to a huge money deal just because he plays with 34-29.
Quoting: Claesson4Norris
You can spin it all you want, but that contract is still a mistake. Even if he lives up to that contract, it was still a mistake, because he's done nothing to warrant a contract that size.
Obviously he's a player who has a bigger effect than just points, and that's fine, but you don't give 'energy' players big money contracts, even if you have them playing on the top line. the Leafs wouldn't sign a guy like Zach Hyman to a huge money deal just because he plays with 34-29.
O.K. hold on... I already explained Why he EARNED this contract. Tom Wilson does so much for this organization. Tom Wilson is more than a "energy guy". As I said I can't do anything to change the opinion of people who don't see him play day in and day out. This contract is not a mistake, a mistake would have been not to resign him.
O.K. hold on... I already explained Why he EARNED this contract. Tom Wilson does so much for this organization. Tom Wilson is more than a "energy guy". As I said I can't do anything to change the opinion of people who don't see him play day in and day out. This contract is not a mistake, a mistake would have been not to resign him.
end. of discussion.
What do you say to the Caps fans that watch him day in and day out and they dislike the terms of the contract but love the player?
I love Tom Wilson, and I hope he proves to be worth this contract. He’s a very effective player in his role. But that role should not pay him more than Viktor Arvidsson or Brendan Gallagher or Kyle Palmieri or Chris Kreider.
...or Jenner, or Komarov, or Clutterbuck. Those guys hit more and score more goals. Wilson is getting paid for his offense while playing with the best guys in the league. The Caps have overpaid for similar top five on five unit passengers like Jeff Schultz and Brooks Laich, and overpaid for similar tough guys like Brashear and Orpik. Most Caps fans were excited about all of those deals at the time they were signed.
Those of us who remember how they worked out over the years don't really need to be told to grow up by someone who was too young to know the last four times this happened, but thanks for sharing.
...or Jenner, or Komarov, or Clutterbuck. Those guys hit more and score more goals. Wilson is getting paid for his offense while playing with the best guys in the league. The Caps have overpaid for similar top five on five unit passengers like Jeff Schultz and Brooks Laich, and overpaid for similar tough guys like Brashear and Orpik. Most Caps fans were excited about all of those deals at the time they were signed.
Those of us who remember how they worked out over the years don't really need to be told to grow up by someone who was too young to know the last four times this happened, but thanks for sharing.
Sure, he impacts play a lot. That doesn’t mean the caps had to pay him as much as they did/will. The fact that he doesn’t score much could easily have been used to lower the price a bit.
...or Jenner, or Komarov, or Clutterbuck. Those guys hit more and score more goals. Wilson is getting paid for his offense while playing with the best guys in the league. The Caps have overpaid for similar top five on five unit passengers like Jeff Schultz and Brooks Laich, and overpaid for similar tough guys like Brashear and Orpik. Most Caps fans were excited about all of those deals at the time they were signed.
Those of us who remember how they worked out over the years don't really need to be told to grow up by someone who was too young to know the last four times this happened, but thanks for sharing.
Wilson is exponentially better than Komarov and Clutterbuck. Jenner is a fair comparison, and I think Wilson probably deserved around his money, probably a touch more. But when you win a cup prices are going to go up. And you can't just look at stats like hits and compare players. You can bump a guy and it registers as a hit, it's a flawed stat. Wilson is a much more complete player in all areas of the game than either of those guys. And even if you want to look at their numbers offensively, Wilson had a far better year than both Clutterbuck and Komarov and is 6 and 7 years younger than them respectively. It's pretty easy to see why he's making more than those two.
And the big difference between the Laich and Orpik deals and this one is that Wilson is still young and hasn't reached his potential yet. Both those guys got deals from the Caps as older players (Laich's during that nasty groin injury as well). I still think the Caps overpaid for Wilson, but it's still a deal that could very well work out for them in the end.
@bags92 let's look at single season best goal totals:
Wilson: 14
Komarov: 17
Clutterbuck: 19
Jenner: 30
Edit: I really hope you're right, because if Wilson magically turns into a Boone Jenner type of scoring threat, this deal will be reasonable.
Quoting: Eli
@bags92 let's look at single season best goal totals:
Wilson: 14
Komarov: 17
Clutterbuck: 19
Jenner: 30
Edit: I really hope you're right, because if Wilson magically turns into a Boone Jenner type of scoring threat, this deal will be reasonable.
Clutterbuck, Jenner, and Komarov have NEVER gone over 20 assists. Wilson had 21 this year as a 24 year old. Anyone can cherry pick stats.
And even if you'd like to cherry pick stats for Komarov or Clutterbuck, their best years are long gone. They're both over the hill and Wilson is blossoming into a solid player.
Looking at stats never tells the whole story either. Wilson is a far superior skater to all the players listed and his presence has a much larger impact on the ice. There's certainly a case to be made that Jenner is better than Wilson and could have a better career ahead of him, but Clutterbuck and Komarov are not in the same conversation as Wilson or Jenner at this point in their careers.
Clutterbuck, Jenner, and Komarov have NEVER gone over 20 assists. Wilson had 21 this year as a 24 year old. Anyone can cherry pick stats.
And even if you'd like to cherry pick stats for Komarov or Clutterbuck, their best years are long gone. They're both over the hill and Wilson is blossoming into a solid player.
Looking at stats never tells the whole story either. Wilson is a far superior skater to all the players listed and his presence has a much larger impact on the ice. There's certainly a case to be made that Jenner is better than Wilson and could have a better career ahead of him, but Clutterbuck and Komarov are not in the same conversation as Wilson or Jenner at this point in their careers.
EDIT: Not sure why I quoted you twice...
Jenner is on a 3M bridge deal. Will get paid soon. Not worth worrying about. Komarov skates about like WIlson but does have same size or fighting ability. Clutterbuck has size and fists, but not speed. Wilson is a pretty complete hockey player, but 21 assists after half a season with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov makes him less of a playmaker than TJ Oshie right now, who's making about the same money and is this team's real #1 right wing by minutes, points, esp/60, what have you...
I did anticipate Wilson's AAV being above those of Komarov and Jenner, but not Clutterbuck, who hits more, scores more, and is regarded pretty highly as far as leadership and team spirit go.
Jenner is on a 3M bridge deal. Will get paid soon. Not worth worrying about. Komarov skates about like WIlson but does have same size or fighting ability. Clutterbuck has size and fists, but not speed. Wilson is a pretty complete hockey player, but 21 assists after half a season with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov makes him less of a playmaker than TJ Oshie right now, who's making about the same money and is this team's real #1 right wing by minutes, points, esp/60, what have you...
I did anticipate Wilson's AAV being above those of Komarov and Jenner, but not Clutterbuck, who hits more, scores more, and is regarded pretty highly as far as leadership and team spirit go.
Wilson scored 35 points this year with next to no power play time. Clutterbuck turns 31 in November and has never scored 35 points, ever. And just watch the guys play, Wilson is leaps and bounds better than Clutterbuck.
And Wilson is still growing as a player. I really feel he can be a consistent 45 point guy and offensive production is just a part of what makes him such an effective player. I agree that this contract was an over-payment, but I would take Wilson at his current contract over Clutterbuck or Komarov in a heartbeat.
Yeah, with 40 points in 3/4 of the year last year, and just 5 on the power play, Wilson seems pretty likely to break 50 and push for 60 at some point in this deal. In low-scoring times, that's going to be worth the money. Even after a 20 game suspension, he outscored Jenner last year (which surprised me), and handily outscored Komarov, Clutterbuck, and Ladd (which.... okay, could have been predicted). Some of that offense obviously comes from the quality of his linemates, but it's not like Tkachuk didn't play his best with Zhamnov and Selanne.
But when I read a thread title like "Tom Wilson 2.0," in summer 2019, the first thought that jumped into my head was that you wanted the Caps to talk Micheal Ferland.
I mean, if we're still talking Wilson, he's still got to work on professionalism and consistency, so he can play 80 games a year, to be worth all the cap space and hype, but I'm more optimistic now, about that.
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