The 29-year-old attributed a lot of his growth to Alex Ovechkin and is ready to spend the rest of his career with the Capitals.
ARLINGTON, V.A. -- For Tom Wilson, the emotions after signing his long-term extension with the Washington Capitals on Thursday haven't fully sunk in yet.
It's the deal that he's been waiting years for, a seven-year commitment that pays $6.5 million per season and also all but guarantees that Wilson will spend the rest of his career with the Capitals.
"The smile hasn't left my face," Wilson said simply, adding, "Playing in a city like D.C. that I've called home for so long now when I go into that rink, it means a lot to me. I want to win; I want to play the right way. I couldn't imagine having to actually go move and play somewhere else."
The 29-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but he and general manager Brian MacLellan got to work on a new contract with both parties wanting to continue their partnership and wanting to avoid outside noise from creeping in over the course of the 2023-24 season.
"I think I've been around long enough that you see some of these contract years and you see some of the distraction. As the year goes along, all the stuff that can come up," Wilson said. "I wanted to get rid of that, not have to worry about that. I knew I wanted to be here for as long as I could, and the team expressed the same."
"He's got a unique set of skills. Plays on both specialty teams, good 5-on-5 player, real good teammate. I think it was important for us to get him in our lineup, to not create a distraction going forward this year," MacLellan added. "Tom creates a lot of attention. And I think this past offseason, it was creating attention about future contracts or possibilities about being traded, so it was a priority for us to get him signed and come to an agreement and make him a big part of our organization going forward."
For Wilson, it's a dream come true, and there was and for the Capitals, it's exactly what the franchise needs going forward: a veteran leader and role player who can bridge the transition as the veteran core ages out and the team gets younger while heading toward a likely rebuild.
"It's just the attitude he brings. The guys on the team create a culture every year. He's been a big part of ours coming up to this point, and he'll be a big part going forward," MacLellan said. "I think he's learned a lot over the years. He's won a Cup, he got to play as a young guy with solid veteran guys ahead of him. Now he's become that guy.
"We're looking for him to help when young guys come in, how to be a professional, how to handle yourself off the ice, handle yourself in the community, how to play the right way, how to practice the right way. He's had such a great education through his first 10-11 years; he'll continue to provide us that going forward, which is a huge part of what we accomplished here with this contract."
Wilson has gone from a physicality, gritty player known for his fighting skill and big hits to a consistent, versatile top-6 power forward and a key leader on and off the ice. Injuries and a torn ACL limited him to just 33 games this past season, but he would have been on pace to hit the 50-point mark for the second straight season had he played in all 82 games.
While Wilson's fine-tuned the offensive side of his game, this contract mainly revolves around him becoming the face of the franchise -- and more than likely the next captain -- once Alex Ovechkin hangs up the skates and the rest of the veteran core ages out. It's a tall task, but it's one that Wilson is excited to take on for the rest of his time in the NHL.
"This [deal] gives me the opportunity -- as long as I do my job and keep improving and helping the team do well -- to only have to play in one place my whole career. That's pretty special to me; it's part of why I play the game: going to battle with your teammates," Wilson said. "Growing and having pride in playing for this city. Hopefully, we can do that."
Wilson also said he feels more than ready to fill those large skates when the time comes, and he owes a lot of that confidence to Ovechkin, who has been working behind the scenes to shape Wilson into a leader while continuing his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky.
"To be able to learn from him, watch him, help him in whatever way I can do his thing has been pretty cool. You can never take it for granted, playing with someone that great and doing what he's doing," Wilson said, adding, "He's been amazing to me, an amazing leader. He's taken me under his wing. He's had lots of conversations about, maybe four or five years down the road or whenever it is, what it means to be a leader. And he's been fairly vocal with me the last little while about that. Just speaks to his character and how much he cares about his teammates. I just try to soak it all in."
Though his new contract doesn't officially start until next season, the Ontario native will start serving as one of the key leaders for Washington this coming season.
The Capitals are looking to return to the playoffs after missing out on the postseason for the first time in nine years, and with new head coach Spencer Carbery at the helm and the team expected to get younger, Wilson reiterated that there is still a lot left for D.C. to prove -- and he is ready to do everything he can to keep the team a contender.
“I think there’s an excitement coming into this year that is a little bit different than kind of in years past, you know, there’s new coaching staff, guys are getting healthy. It’s been kind of — it was kind of a rocky year last year. Carb seems awesome. He’s reached out to a lot of the guys, he’s hungry, he’s motivated, he wants to get this back on track. And I think that’s the theme for all of us," Wilson said. "There’s a lot of winners in that room and when you don’t make the playoffs, it’s a failure to what we believe in in our group," Wilson said. "So we’re excited, we’re hungry, we’re excited to get back at it and get this thing moving back in the right direction and show the culture that you know, what it is to be a Cap and that’s winning games, that’s playing hard, it’s making it hard for teams to come into our building.
"We built that for a long time. You talk to other players around the league, they’re like, ‘Hey, we knew when we came into. D.C., our chances weren’t good.’ And that’s what we need to get back to, and I believe in this group and we got a lot of great players. There’s young guys coming up, there’s obviously a great core veteran group and guys are starting to feel better, get a little healthier. With Carbs and the new coaching staff, I think it’ll be exciting. We’re ready to get back to work and get this thing going.”