Capitals' Wilson has suspension reduced, eligible to return
An arbitrator has reduced Washington forward Tom Wilson's suspension from 20 games to 14, meaning he is eligible to play in the Capitals' road game Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild. Wilson was suspended after delivering an illegal check to the head against St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist in Washington's preseason finale on Sept. 30. The NHL and the NHL Players' Association announced Tuesday that arbitrator Shyam Das had trimmed the suspension to 14 games, ending the six-week appeal process. Wilson has already missed 16 games. The reduction saves him roughly $378,000 in lost salary, according to The Washington Post. Wilson, 24, set career highs in 2017-18 with 14 goals and 21 assists while playing on the Capitals' top line opposite captain Alex Ovechkin. He was rewarded with a six-year, $31 million contract this summer. This was Wilson's fourth suspension since entering the league. When NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the original 20-game ban on Oct. 25, he wrote that the long suspension might "be the only effective way to deter Mr. Wilson's future 'bad conduct.'" --Field Level Media
