Sports

The warning signs around Tom Wilson’s new contract with the Washington Capitals

Published

1 year ago

August 4, 2023

Wowzers.

That was my Inspector Gadget reaction to Tom Wilson’s seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension that was announced by the Washington Capitals Friday morning.

Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. I love the way Wilson plays. He’s one of the last true power forwards remaining in the National Hockey League. Wilson can beat you with or without his gloves on. And he’s always a threat to any opponent casually skating through the middle of the ice.

He may be known for his physicality – and willingness to toe the line of legality – but Wilson can bury the puck. He’s been a 20-goal scorer three times during his 10-year NHL career. Over the course of an 82-game schedule, the Washington forward should be a routine 50 point producer.

Bottom line: Wilson is a weapon. And he’s been a great player for the Capitals over the course of 680 regular season games. WIlson was an integral part of Washington’s Stanley Cup Championship in 2018 and has featured in 83 postseason tilts.

After signing the extension, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan waxed poetic about Wilson, stating “Tom possesses all the intangibles needed to win in this League, and we are extremely pleased to sign him to a long-term contract, giving him the opportunity to finish his career in a Capitals’ uniform.”

That’s all good and well, and I understand MacLellan’s sentiment. Washington’s GM chose to reward a foundational piece of his team for the long haul. But the bruising forward from Toronto is going to be 30 years old when his extension kicks in during the 2024-25 season. The two sides are married for another eight seasons. Wilson will be 37 years old when his contract expires.

I want to be very clear: I think Wilson has earned every penny of his new deal. He’s been a warrior for the Caps, and at times, the team’s nuclear deterrent. There’s a tangible effect on the opposition when he’s in the lineup. I’d want him on my team eight days a week.

But my gut feeling is that even though Wilson’s $6.5 million AAV will become reasonable in the next few years as the NHL’s salary cap increases, the contract will become onerous to the Capitals.

Why? I have several reasons. The first is that the NHL isn’t slowing down any time soon. The game continues to speed up, and while Wilson has been able to adapt and continue to produce, will that continue into his mid-thirties?

Maybe his teammate, Alex Ovechkin, has given the Capitals false hope in this area. At 37 years old, Washington’s top sniper is still filling the net to the tune of 40-50 tucks a year. But let’s face it: Ovi might be a cyborg. He’s been one of the NHL’s most durable players over the course of his career, and his goal production has been freakishly consistent.

Wilson, on the other hand, has battled injuries off and on for the better part of six seasons, including an ACL tear during the 2022-23 campaign that limited him to just 33 games. And given the heavy style he plays, I have a hard time believing Wilson will suddenly be able to reverse that trend.

Yes, the team does know the player better than anyone. And what that really means is the Capitals athletic trainers are well aware of Wilson’s situation. I’d have to imagine MacLellan consulted with them extensively. The doctors must have given a big thumbs up in favor of Wilson’s ability to stay in the lineup.

But I’ve seen this before. Remember David Backes?

Backes was a damn good leader and player. I have so much respect for him. Through hard work and determination, he earned the captaincy of the St. Louis Blues. But Backes chose to leave for a better contract with the Boston Bruins in 2018.

Ironically, St. Louis beat the Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup finals. But that season was the start of Backes’ decline. His production tumbled as his body succumbed to years of hard miles. The Bruins even made Backes a healthy scratch for the last three contests of the seven-game Stanley Cup final against the Blues. Granted, Backes was 32 when he signed the five-year, $6 million AAV deal with Boston. But I see so many similarities to Wilson.

In the final two years of his contract, Backes only appeared in 37 games. His rough-and-tumble, decidedly old-school style came at a cost. The same cost that I think Wilson will end up paying sooner rather than later. And the Capitals are going to be on the hook for it.

Obviously, I’m going off gut reaction. But I think the Capitals really stretched on this deal, caving in on Wilson’s intangibles rather than comparables around the NHL. Washington even has an in-house example with 36-year-old T.J. Oshie, who’s missed significant time over the past two seasons and seen his point production lag.

While I value continuity in the locker room as much as anyone, I think locking in eight more seasons with Wilson was a huge gamble for MacLellan. Four years? Sure. I would have made that contract in a heartbeat. But what’s also a little nutty is that Wilson has a modified no-trade clause throughout his new deal. This means the AAV is probably lower than it could have been without them.

Make no mistake. It’s a fantastic contract for Wilson. One that carries zero risk. Even if he gets bought out down the road, it extends his earning years. And after already making tens of millions of dollars, a buyout would be much easier to accept.

No doubt MacLellan is going to take some heat for Wilson’s extension. It’s a big bet. But Wilson is a core piece of the Capitals. Clearly, the team feels he is exactly the type of player that can carry the franchise to another Stanley Cup championship.

Ultimately, the value of Wilson’s new contract might be determined by how he – and the Capitals – perform in the postseason. But the team has to get there first.

Hopefully, I’m wrong. Hopefully, Caps fans can look back eight years from now and view Wilson’s contract favorably. But to me, it feels like just about every warning sign was ignored.

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Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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