As we can clearly see in the picture above, it was at that exact moment Artemi Panarin realized he fucked up.
What a trip it was to New York for Tom Wilson. It has been a few days now since he made himself public enemy #1 in the Big Apple. Time to break down the events that took place and my feelings on them.
Incident
During the first of two games Tom Wilson was doing Tom Wilson things. Pavel Buchnevich was digging for a free puck and Wilson took him to the ice. He followed this up with a muffin of a punch to the shoulder/neck area of Buchnevich. Not surprisingly the Rangers responded and a small wrestling match ensued. During this time Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin came in to defend a teammate and jumped on the back of Wilson. I love seeing the breadman willing to mix it up like this. There is only one problem. When you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Feeling the small monkey climbing on his back Wilson responded accordingly. He shook him off, removed his helmet, and threw him heavily to the ice. He then rag dolled the wee man for a few seconds. Stuff like this happens after every other whistle in the playoffs. That’s pretty much how things ended. There was some minor group wrestling that followed, but nothing else.
It should be noted that the score at the time of the scuffle was 3-2 in favour of the Rangers. The game ended up 6-3 for the Capitals. I wonder if the Rangers wish they had a game changer like Wilson in their line up.
Reaction
Once the game ended the real shit show began.
The Rangers players and coaching staff complained about what Wilson had done to Panarin. I get that. I would have done the same thing. You can’t let one man completely spank your entire organization and not complain about it to the media. I must admit I did sense a bit of jealousy out of the Rangers as well. Most likely stemming from Wilson’s Hollywood good looks. Man is he sexy. He oozes machismo.
Twitter also blew up. From people wanting Wilson suspended to him being kicked out of the NHL for good. This is the problem with social media. Everyone has a voice on there. The vast majority, including myself, are idiots.
The big question now was how would the head of the NHL’s Department of Players Safety George Parros respond. Much to my shock and joy, Parros handed Wilson a minor pee pee slap in the form of a $5,000.00 fine.
This is where things began to get interesting.
The Rangers embarrassed themselves by releasing a statement calling what Wilson did a “horrifying act of violence” and calling for George Parros to be removed from his job. I have no idea what they were trying to accomplish by doing this. Win some fans on social media perhaps. If thats the case take a walk. They had to have known they would be getting fined and there was zero chance the league would change its ruling. They soon followed this up by firing general manager Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson. Apparently the statement regarding the Wilson incident came directly from the office of team owner James Dolan, and Gorton and Davidson had nothing to do with it. According to team officials these firings were in the works for some time and the timing was completely coincidental. Ya…sure, and I’m a respected journalist.
It was also announced that Panarin would miss the remainder of the season. A grand total of 3 games. I wonder had the Rangers been in a playoff race if he would have still missed those games.
Response
The rematch 2 nights later it was anticipated the Rangers would seek revenge. They did, in a sense. Off the opening draw there was 3 scraps which I loved to see. However, Wilson was not on the ice. When he did take his first shift he was greeted with boos from the crowd and Brendan Smith engaging with him which led to a fight. Good for Smith stepping up and shedding the mitts. Although Wilson got the better of him, Smith showed stones by taking on the bigger man. There was 2 more fights in the first. I loved seeing this response from the Rangers. However, I do believe it came a game too late. Things seemed to settle down after that.
Outcome
Perhaps had the Rangers responded this way immediately after Wilson showed Panarin who his Daddy is a few nights earlier all of this BS in the media would not have taken place. Gorton and Davidson would also still likely be employed by the team. At the end of the day I believe the Rangers only have themselves to blame for how things played out. Wilson knew he could do whatever he wanted and there would be no repercussions from the Rangers. I sure hope the Rangers address the need by adding some toughness in the offseason. Sure it may have been a little greasy what Wilson did, but why not do it if the opposition has no one to stop you. As much as most people bitch about him, any logical hockey fan would love to have Wilson on their team.