Why Tom Wilson didn’t deserve to get suspended for hit on Filip Chytil
Everybody is still talking about the crushing hit that happened in Sunday’s game between the Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks.
In the final minute of the first period, Capitals forward Tom Wilson caught Canucks forward Filip Chytil admiring is pass in the neutral zone, delivering a huge hit that knocked Chytil to the ice.
The Czech center had to be helped off the ice, and didn’t return to the game. Wilson received no penalty on the play. On Sunday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Wilson wouldn’t face supplemental discipline for the hit.
The outcry from both fanbases has been polarizing, with some calling for Wilson to be suspended, while others are claiming that the check was clean.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton explain why Wilson didn’t deserve to be suspended.
Tyler Yaremchuk: A part of this conversation is this is a guy, Filip Chytil, who has missed plenty of time over the last couple of seasons with concussions. Another part of this is that it’s Tom Wilson. I think if you were to show me this replay with shadows only, and I don’t know who the players are, I don’t think I have an issue with the hit. Maybe two minutes for interference?
Carter Hutton: This is something that, for me, has gone away in the game. We don’t see it as often…This is a young player dishing the puck out to the wide ice, skating into the middle ice with his head down, and he catches him right in the chest. I feel like the situation is who it is in the situation. It’s Tom Wilson, a guy who’s known for killing guys and hurting it. It’s close. This is really on the line for me. Like a little bit longer, it’s a horrible hit. But he doesn’t hit him in the head. He hits him square in the chest. I think this is just you have to understand that this is a physical league, and you have to know who you’re on the ice against. If you’re going to make a cute pass in the neutral zone and skate, admiring it, you’ve got to be ready for it. I feel for the kid because he’s been through so much, but at some point, someone has to defend Tom Wilson in the sense of this is the way he plays the game. This is the way that he has to walk that line.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…