Ok but Blues fans said the same thing about Reaves lol. I get that Wilson is a better player than him, but the “ask Caps fans” argument doesn’t apply. Of course they will say that, because they picked him in the 1st round and are still holding out hope that he will be better than what he currently is. Like Blues fans did with Reaves, Caps fans overrate Wilson by using the argument “you have to watch the games to see the impact he really makes!” I like physicality but he is not even close to being worth that money. He’s making essentially the same as James Neal who was a UFA... it’s a terrible contract. At the end of the day, stats matter when you’re making money like that. He doesn’t produce enough.
I get why people are freaking out over the contract, and even had the same reaction at first, but wanted more info as to why the 6y/31m instead of immediately jumping on the hate bandwagon or looking only at the statline.
I completely get the Tom Wilson hate, imagine if he played for the Avs, Jets or Preds, for example.
The Reaves comparison isn't exactly fair. We know how skilled Reaves can be, but he has panned out at this point, Wilson, otoh, has time.
I'm not defending the guy, just trying to gain a clearer understanding as to why this deal was made, and to me, the deeper I look, the more sense it makes.
They have him locked up during his prime years (24-30), he's still young and there's room for growth in his game, and they also just won a cup with him (playing important minutes too).
All that said,
I hope for Caps fan's sake he turns out to be this game-changing PF. Otherwise, look at the Bickell or Clarkson contracts...
Ultimately, this has little consequnce for us, the Caps are in the East and we won't be among the teams he'll terrorize night-in and night-out.
Time will tell.