The NHL finally got this one right, and that's not something we often say when talking about the Department of Player Safety.
And especially when it involves Tom Wilson.
The NHL on Wednesday finally dropped the hammer on Wilson, suspending the oft-controversial winger 20 games for his vicious blindside hit to Blues center Oskar Sundqvist. You can watch the Department of Player Safety's explanation here, read about what it means for the Capitals here and watch the hit below.
It's about damn time too.
Wilson has repeatedly avoided a major suspension despite constantly delivering questionable and dangerous hits.
What's curious about the explainer video posted by the Department of Player Safety is:
NHL
In short, including preseason and postseason games played, this is Wilson's fourth suspension in his last 105 games, an unprecedented frequency of suspensions in the history of the Department of Player Safety.
So why did it take this long for the department to actually punish Wilson? Did it really take four suspensions in 105 games for the league to realize there's a bigger problem here? That's not a great look.
This dude is a danger to hockey players and the only way to send a message is to ban him for a long period of time. Twenty games is that. You can argue it should have been more. But this should have happened before.
The thing about Wilson is, he's an extremely talented player. He can skate, he has size, he can score, he has skill. He's an extremely effective player when he's not being Tom Wilson. Some players can't shake it, though, and he's one of them.
The Flyers do not face the Capitals until Jan. 8 and then three times between March 6-14. Wilson's 20 game suspension will be over by then. With his reputation, he could be sitting again.