On Friday, the Washington Capitals announced they re-signed forward Tom Wilson to a massive six-year contract with an annual salary of $5.17 million.
The deal, announced by Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian MacLellan, will keep the two-way power forward in Washington until the end of the 2023-24 season and represents a hefty contract for a player who has never exceeded 14 goals in a single season.
While this could be viewed as an overpayment by the Capitals, the team announced their enthusiasm over the new contract saying, "Tom is an invaluable member of our team and we are pleased that he is committed to sign a long-term deal at this point in his career." Calling him a unique player, the Capitals believe Wilson brings a physical style and contributes in a number of areas. He was a huge part of the Capitals' Stanley Cup winning season as he scored five goals and 15 points in 21 playoff games.
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[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1023011286999687168[/EMBED_TWITTER] Wilson plays every inch of the ice. The Capitals use him at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded. He set career highs for himself last season and the Capitals must believe he's on the verge of breaking out, choosing to pay for what's coming in his NHL career versus what's he's already produced. Not afraid to mix it up, Wilson recorded 187 penalty minutes last season, making him the only player over the last eight seasons to record at least 35 points and 185 penalty minutes. His physical play alongside his potential skill played a large role in the size of his contract. Wilson was selected by the Capitals in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2012 NHL Draft. In 391 total games with the Capitals, he's scored 104 points. That's enough to rank him second from that year's draft class in games played. The jury is still out on whether or not Wilson can live up to this deal. In 2017-18, his cap hit will be higher than players like Nikita Kucherov, John Klingberg, Ryan McDonagh and Jonathan Marchessault.