Following Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson not being suspended for punching New York forward Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head and ending his teammate Artemi Panarin’s (who was helmetless) season by repeatedly slamming him into the ice during a game on Monday night, the Rangers are calling for the job of NHL head of Player Safety George Parros.
The controversial statement and public call for a firing, which was lauded by some and mocked by others, apparently created internal strife within the Rangers organization. And, though it wasn’t Parros who got the aze, it did lead to a firing. Well, two.
As for Wilson, a repeat offender who has been suspended five times in his career for a total of 30 games, he was simply fined $5,000 for his actions, the maximum amount allowable under the CBA. During the game itself, the 27-year-old was given two minor penalties for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct penalty.
Panarin, the Rangers’ leading scorer, did not finish Monday’s game and will miss the remainder of the season with what the team described as a lower-body injury. Following the game, a 6-3 win for Washington, Rangers coach David Quinn said Wilson showed “zero respect for the game.”
“You’ve got one of the star players in this game now who could have gotten seriously, seriously hurt in that incident,” Quinn said. “You saw what happened. And it happens time and time again with [Wilson]. It’s just totally unnecessary.”
Former NHL tough guy John Scott, who had 36 NHL fights and served several suspensions during his eight-year career, said Wilson “crossed the line” with his “gutless terrible hockey” and also ripped Parros for “completely” dropping the ball (and his drawers).
Wilson, who is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, was suspended for seven games earlier this season for this dirty hit on Brandon Carlo that kept the young Bruins defenseman out for more than a month.
Asked what he’d said to Wilson since the punishment was handed down, Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said he told his right-winger he should be more careful. “The message to Tom is he’s big and strong and when he gets in the scrums and he wrestles, you gotta be careful because just with the attention on him he gets looked at in a certain way,” Laviolette said. “So he’s got to play his game, he has to be hard to play against, he has to be physical, but in the same sense, he’s got to know that eyes are on him, as well.”
Even if the league office won’t do it, the Rangers will get a shot to exact some justice on Wilson later tonight when they take the ice against the Capitals again at Madison Square Garden. However, being a young team built more around skill than bulk, it remains unclear if the Rangers actually have the physical ability to deliver old-school justice against Wilson.
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