The Washington Capitals repeatedly insisted that Tom Wilson’s check on Philadelphia Flyers center Brayden Schenn was clean.The NHL’s Department of Player Safety determined that it at least wasn’t worthy of supplemental discipline on Thursday:
In case you’d rather read the explanation instead of watch the video, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of Brendan Shanahan’s reasoning.
- Shanahan believes that Schenn, 22, turned his back in a way that contributed to the violence of the collision.
- The league apparently believes a claim from Wilson, 19, that he made the decision to hit Schenn when he was inside the faceoff circle, mitigating some of the charging discussion.
- Also, Shanahan points out that Wilson was reading the play when he was making his way on the forecheck, strengthening the argument that the decision to hit Schenn came later than some might believe.
- Ultimately, Shanahan believes that Wilson was mostly skating in a “typical forechecking fashion.”
So, long story short, the league decided that the charging major and game misconduct Wilson received during that game was enough of a punishment.
Related: PHT Extra on the league’s mixed messages regarding suspensions