Tom Wilson will serve his time after declining appeal of suspension

Tom Wilson, in a somewhat surprising move, has declined to appeal his 6-game suspension and will miss all 6 games for the Washington Capitals.

Tom Wilson doesn't have the cleanest reputation in the NHL, as he has a laundry list of suspension history for some very questionable hits. However, his most recent high stick didn't necessarily look like he would serve a lot of time for the incident.

That isn't how the NHL felt, though, as they immediately called Wilson for an in-person hearing regarding the arrant stick. Wilson's stick caught the Leafs' Noah Gregor in the face, and during the game, the play was called a penalty. The NHL, though, determined that Wilson was acting reckless with his stick, which is why he received 6 games.

Now, it has been determined that Tom Wilson and the Washington Capitals are not going to appeal the suspension.



This is huge news, as the Washington Capitals are in an extremely tight playoff race right now, and could use all the help they can get from their lineup. Tom Wilson is a huge contributor to the Capitals' success, having 17 goals and 15 assists in 66 games this year. The Capitals will now have to rely on other depth options to fill the gap left by Wilson, but where they will more likely feel the pressure is in the veteran leadership on the ice that Wilson provides.

We will see if the Capitals can make a push without Wilson in the near future.

As seen on Blade of Steel - "Capitals' Wilson makes surprising decision on 6-game suspension"