Tom Wilson says he’s now afraid to make a hit on the ice!

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has become a notorious NHL delinquent and has become quite accustomed to the phone calls from the league’s Department of Player Safety. 

Overall, in his career, Wilson has been suspended four times in his career (all within a 105-game span, including preseason) and fined once. Here is how The Sporting News puts it together and explains it: 

“As of the start of the 2018-19 season, no player in the NHL has been penalized more since Wilson entered the league in 2013. Of his 255 penalties (regular-season only) during that span, roughly 20 percent have been majors (58). They add up to 806 minutes, including 11 misconducts and a match penalty. Only two other players (Antoine Roussel and Cody McLeod at 707) have more than 600 penalty minutes. Again, these figures don’t even include his postseason misbehavior.”

On Thursday, before the matchup agains the St. Louis Blues, Wilson met with Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest and revealed that he is now afraid to make hits on the ice. He even said he would be sitting out pre-season games against the Blues from now on... 

“Honest talk with Tom Wilson today. Says it’s gotten to the point he’d rather not make a hit in fear of it being considered illegal. Says it’s 100% in his head throughout a hockey game,” Strickland posted on his Twitter account.

This is all coming back to Wilson seeing that the Caps are facing the Blues tonight. In the Capitals’ final preseason game, Wilson blindsided Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist with a high hit. Wilson was given a match penalty, and Sundqvist suffered a concussion and shoulder injury. The league then made quite the statement, suspending him for the first 20 games to begin the regular season. The DPoS cited his status as a repeat offender and an “unprecedented frequency of suspensions” to justify the longest suspension in the NHL since 2015. Wilson forfeited $1,260,162.60 in salary.

The suspension was cut short. But now Wilson wants to make it known that he is more aware of his play and isn’t making hits as much as before in fear of getting punished. 

Are we supposed to feel sorry for him…?!