ARLINGTON, V.A. — After chatting with Tom Wilson after Washington Capitals practice on Tuesday, my eyes shifted to a strange object at the top of his locker room stall. Sitting in a roll of white stick tape was an egg, with a smiley face and “TOM” drawn on it in Sharpie.
Wilson laughed and shrugged when asked about it.
“Yeah, one of my teammates got me an egg,” Wilson said. “It’s been there since Easter.”
As far as everyone’s concerned, it’s a real egg, one that’ll likely start to smell in the coming weeks. I suggested it may hatch, though Wilson assured me we’d need more light for that to happen.
Regardless, he’s not moving it, nor are any of his teammates or the equipment staff.
The culprit remains at large, though the suspects are resident pranksters Brandon Duhaime and Logan Thompson. Neither will take credit, though Thompson drew a smiley face with “Tom” written on Wilson’s helmet earlier in the season.
Wilson cherishes the gift, though.
“Lucky egg, don’t move it, don’t touch it,” Wilson laughed.
After the egg’s placement at Easter, the Capitals won their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in five games. Wilson had two goals and three assists for five points in that series.
Washington starts Round 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
“A lot of weird stuff goes on in here,” Wilson noted, but also acknowledged the camaraderie the group shares, fueled by fun pranks and, as Charlie Lindgren calls it, “agape love.”
“We've got a tight group. We're able to look at each other in the eye and demand the best,” Wilson said.