from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,

Truth be told, the Washington Capitals took an enormous risk when they declined to exercise their right to take Tom Wilson to arbitration. And while it’s one that will likely cost them some money in the short-term, they’re gambling it will pay off handsomely in the long run.

First, the background. Wilson is a 24-year-old restricted free agent with arbitration rights. His representatives and the Capitals have been negotiating on an off throughout the off-season on a deal that in the end could be four or five years. The only sticking point at the moment is Wilson’s monetary worth, which is a difficult projection. Is he a first-line player who can hang with the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin and score 0.74 points per game the way he did in the playoffs? Or is he a bottom-six forward who will always play on the edge of the rulebook and occasionally be unavailable to his team because he’s suspended? What if the NHL bans all headshots, intentional or unintentional? So many questions. In the end, if all things work out between Wilson and the Capitals, he’s likely looking at a yearly salary between $3.5 million and $4.5 million depending upon the term. And Wilson wants to be with the Capitals as much as they want to have him.

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