Tom Wilson returned to Kettler Capitals Iceplex for his first informal skate of the season on Tuesday. After finishing with his drills, he spoke with CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir about the team’s difficult offseason.
While the Capitals re-signed TJ Oshie and kept all of its talented restricted free agents, they traded Marcus Johansson in a salary dump to the New Jersey Devils and saw UFAs Justin Williams, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Karl Alzner sign with new teams. The Capitals also lost top-four defenseman Nate Schmidt, who was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
“It was a tough summer for sure,” Wilson said. “The start of the summer it was almost like you were expecting kind of bad news. You knew there was kind of an uneasy change coming to the group and you didn’t really know what it was going to be. Once you started to see guys moved around, it definitely sucks. You build a bond with those guys and you play for each other hard for so long and then they’re gone.
“You’ve gotta turn the page. I’ll definitely give ’em a bump out there, JoJo and stuff like that,” Wilson continued. “I think we play them [the New Jersey Devils] a couple times right out the gate. They’re on the other side now. Definitely friends for life, but you’ve kinda gotta forget about that. It’s part of the business. We’re gonna work with what we’ve got here, and definitely no friends out there.”
Wilson also expressed his desire to take on a bigger role after the departures of the aforementioned players.
“I want to keep playing my game,” Wilson said. “I want to take on more responsibility and definitely step up, because there are some holes in the lineup from guys that had big shoes here for a long time.”
The full interview is below.
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It seems like it was a bigger group of players here a little bit earlier than usual. Why do you think that is?
Tom Wilson: “You know it’s a little bit of everything. Last year there were guys missing, the World Cup and a little bit of a later start. There’s no really break-in time anymore. Summer ends, September starts, and everyone wants to get back to work with their clubs. September 1, September 2, Labor Day weekend, whenever guys feel like it they kinda journey back to their clubs and get started.”
What kind of message do you think it sends when a guy like Alex Ovechkin gets here two and a half weeks before training camp is even set to begin?
Tom Wilson: “It’s his home too, you know? He’s been here a long time. He likes it here obviously and it’s like his second home. He feels comfortable here, he kinda comes back whenever he feels like it, he looks great. He’s skating really well up there. I’m sure he’s ready to go like the rest of us.”
A lot of guys have told me that this was a pretty difficult offseason, particularly early on with all the departures, with guys you were very tight with leaving. What was that like for you?
Tom Wilson: “It was a tough summer for sure. The start of the summer it was almost like you were expecting kind of bad news. You knew there was kind of an uneasy change coming to the group and you didn’t really know what it was going to be. Once you started to see guys moved around, it definitely sucks. You build a bond with those guys and you play for each other hard for so long and then they’re gone. You’ve gotta turn the page. I’ll definitely give ’em a bump out there, JoJo and stuff like that. I think we play them [the New Jersey Devils] a couple times right out the gate. They’re on the other side now. Definitely friends for life, but you’ve kinda gotta forget about that. It’s part of the business. We’re gonna work with what we’ve got here, and definitely no friends out there.”
On the flip side, there are a lot of new faces, and some younger players. A few guys have told me that that could be good for the group, a little bit of change, a little bit of energy, a little bit of youth. What’s your take?
Tom Wilson: “Yeah, it’s fun. I mean I feel like I was just there, and now there are even younger guys. I think I’m going onto my fifth year now, and it kinda feels like I was a young guy the whole time, we’ve had such a veteran group. And now there’s lots of guys trying to come in and make the hockey clubs. Walks, guys like that, they look good out there. They’ve got a lot of energy and they’ve been working very hard obviously and they want to make the team. It’s fun to see that. It’s fun to have them around. Guys are definitely amping it up and getting ready to go.”
You started last season on the fourth line, you worked your way up to the third line, scored some big goals in the playoffs. The first time we’ve seen you out here you’re in a red jersey. What are the coaches telling you about your expectations for this year?
Tom Wilson: “I wouldn’t look too much into the color of the jersey. I spoke to the coaches very briefly today, I just got in late last night. It’s a bit of a whirlwind, it’s like you’re 50 and you don’t really know where anything is anymore. You just come in and get on the ice, say hi to everyone, there are some new faces in there as well. You speak to the coaches very briefly, but over the next couple weeks you’ll have conversations and stuff. What I’ve told you all along, I want to keep playing my game. I want to take on more responsibility and definitely step up, because there are some holes in the lineup from guys that had big shoes here for a long time. Guys like Cono, myself, and Burkie, and a lot of the younger guys coming up, they’re gonna have to step up and work and pull the rope and make sure that they’re carrying their own weight.”
