(Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
After two seasons of Tom Wilson playing primarily on the fourth line, Capitals Coach Barry Trotz expected more from his young, bruising winger this year. More of the same would be a bad sign.
“I think our thought process going into the summer last year was that Tom Wilson was put in a position as basically an 18-year-old or 19-year-old hockey player to be in a tough guy role, in that protect-the-team role,” Trotz said last week. “To me, he probably would have been better served in the juniors so he’d get more touches – he wasn’t getting a lot of ice time.