NHL makes surprising decision on Tom Wilson after hit that led to ejection
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Tom Wilson will not face supplemental discipline for his boarding major on Sandis Vilmanis, Elliotte Friedman reports. Here is why it is stirring debate.
Tom Wilson will not face a hearing or any supplemental discipline for his hit on Florida's Sandis Vilmanis, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
The Capitals winger was ejected in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Panthers, and that on-ice penalty now stands as the full punishment.
What happened on the ice
Wilson was hit with a five-minute major and a game misconduct 8:55 into the first period.
Vilmanis had pivoted at the half wall to send a backhand pass up the ice when Wilson caught him in the numbers and his head struck the rim of the boards.
He stayed down for several minutes, was helped off, and the Panthers announced he would not return.
Officials checked the replay and confirmed the call.
It was Wilson's first ejection for an illegal check since November 30, 2018, when a match penalty for a hit on New Jersey's Brett Seney also ended without a suspension.
Why the decision is drawing debate
Wilson has been suspended six times, most recently for six games in March 2024 for high-sticking Toronto's Noah Gregor.
His last hit-related ban, seven games, came in March 2021 for boarding Boston's Brandon Carlo.
That history invites scrutiny, but Player Safety judges the play, and a target turning late into contact can help a player's case.
That reaction was already being predicted in a post from an X account:
One point keeps surfacing: boarding does not have to be from behind.
The rule is about a check that sends a player into the boards violently, so force matters more than angle.
That explains the major, and why some fans find a no-hearing outcome hard to square with it.
Others will say the late turn changes the picture.
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