Name: Friedman on Wilson hit: ‘The league felt the totality of it all was illegal'
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Friedman on Wilson hit: ‘The league felt the totality of it all was illegal'

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CapitalsThe minute Tom Wilson laid his hit on Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo last Friday, it was sure to be a major topic of conversation around the NHL for weeks to come. But not because of the hit specifically, mostly because of who made it.&nbsp;Wilson’s fifth suspension of his career was perhaps his most controversial, because some around the league felt the hit wouldn’t be discussed if anyone other than Wilson made it. That’s the argument Elliotte Friedman relayed on his with Jeff Marek this week.&nbsp;“The league just felt the totality of it all was illegal,” he said.Friedman, the national reporter for Sportsnet in Canada, has heard from sources around the league that many feel the same way the Capitals do —&nbsp;at least in the way that Wilson’s role in this mattered.“I think the most interesting thing I found is that there are a lot of people that believe he only got suspended because he’s Tom Wilson,” Friedman said. “That if it was just about any other player in the NHL who delivered that hit we wouldn’t be talking about anything. I think the Capitals believe that. You heard Peter Laviolette say it. You heard Ovechkin call it a joke.”Of course, the Capitals made the argument that it was a clean hit, one that wasn’t deserving of a penalty and certainly not a suspension.&nbsp;&nbsp;When Friedman made the rounds through the league, there was a clear opinion emerging.“I did have a lot of people say to me, ‘If this was anyone other than No. 43 on the Capitals, nobody would even be talking about this, nobody would be,’” Friedman recalled. “If it was a hit anyone else delivered, it wouldn’t be a penalty or a suspension, a lot of people felt. But that’s what happens when you have the history: People look at you differently and you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”Wilson is eligible to return to the lineup on March 20 against the Rangers with $311,871.61 less in his bank account. And when he returns, the spotlight will be even brighter on his back.“This is my guess: The people in the NHL Department of Player Safety said, ‘This is not a Rule 48,’” Friedman said. “Then when they started thinking about it, they looked at it and said, ‘We don’t like this, is there anything else it is.’ If you read Rule 41, which is boarding, it’s there. You can make that argument. I think that’s exactly what happened.”

CapitalsThe minute Tom Wilson laid his hit on Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo last Friday, it was sure to be a major topic of conversation around the NHL for weeks to come. But not because of the hit specifically, mostly because of who made it.&nbsp;Wilson’s fifth suspension of his career was perhaps his most controversial, because some around the league felt the hit wouldn’t be discussed if anyone other than Wilson made it. That’s the argument Elliotte Friedman relayed on his with Jeff Marek this week.&nbsp;“The league just felt the totality of it all was illegal,” he said.Friedman, the...

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Andrew Gillis

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Friedman on Wilson hit: ‘The league felt the totality of it all was illegal'

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