Rangers players and coaches expressed their displeasure with the NHL’s ruling on Tom Wilson on Tuesday, which fined the Capitals forward $5,000 for his hit to the head of Pavel Buchnevich but gave no suspension, and the Rangers followed that with a powerful statement, one that called out the NHL’s head of player safety.
“The New York Rangers are extremely disappointed that Capitals forward Tom Wilson was not suspended for his horrifying act of violence last night at Madison Square Garden,” the statement read. “Wilson is a repeat offender with a long history of these type of acts and we find it shocking that the NHL and their Department of Safety failed to take the appropriate action and suspend him indefinitely.”
Wilson, after hitting Buchnevich in the back of the head, grabbed Artemi Panarin by his hair and slammed him to the ice, and Panarin will now miss the final three games of the season with a lower body injury. Wilson was suspended seven games earlier this season after hospitalizing Boston’s Brandon Carlo, and served a 20-game suspension in 2018. But he wasn’t suspended for his hit on Buchnevich, and wasn’t disciplined in any way for injuring Panarin.
The Rangers made it clear of their disapproval of George Parros, the league’s head of player safety, calling him out by name in the statement.
“We view this as a dereliction of duty by NHL head of player safety, George Parros,” the statement said. “And believe he is unfit to continue in his current role.”
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