Wilson signs 7-year, $45.5 million contract with Capitals through 2030-31

Tom Wilson signed a seven-year, $45.5 million contract with the Washington Capitals on Friday. It has an average annual value of $6.5 million and begins with the 2024-25 season, running through 2030-31.

The 29-year-old forward, who could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season, had 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) in 33 games for the Capitals last season and led them in penalty minutes (78).

"I knew I wanted to be here for as long as I could and the team expressed the same," Wilson sasid Monday. "I think it just makes it easier, get it out of the way now. Doesn't have to be a distraction. It is business, so throughout a season a lot of different stuff can happen. Pretty fortunate to be able to do it now and just glad that we could get it done."

Wilson set NHL career highs in goals (24), assists (28), points (52), power-play points (10) and time on ice per game (18:35) in 78 games in 2021-22, representing the Capitals at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game.

"Obviously we value what Tom brings to the table, to the team," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "He's got a unique set of skills. Plays on both specialty teams, good 5-on-5 player. Real good teammate, real good person in the community. Pretty much checks every box. And I think it was important for us to get him in our lineup … to not create a distraction going forward this year. Tom creates a lot of attention and I think even this past offseason he was creating attention about future contracts or the possibility of being traded, so it was priority for us to get him signed and come to an agreement and be a bit part of our organization going forward.

Selected by the Capitals in the first round (No. 16) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Wilson has 295 points (128 goals, 167 assists) and 1,299 penalty minutes in 680 regular-season games, and 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 83 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Wilson had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in the 2018 playoffs to help Washington win the Stanley Cup.

Having played 10 seasons already for the Capitals, his new contract keeps him in Washington for eight more seasons, giving him the chance to play his entire NHL career in one place.

"That's huge for me," Wilson said. "It means a lot. Obviously you still have to take it year by year and game by game, which I kind of always have in my career. I think it can be a recipe for success when you have people on the team, in the city, that just take pride and joy in being where they are and playing in a city like DC that I've called home for so long now.

"When I go into that rink it means a lot to me and I want to win. I want to play the right way. I couldn't imagine having to actually move and play somewhere else, so this is the opportunity that, as long as I do my job and keep improving and helping the team do well, it gives me the opportunity to only have to play in one place my whole career and that's pretty special to me. It's part of why I play the game, going to battle with your teammates and growing and having pride and playing for this city. Hopefully we can do that."

The chance to continue playing with Alex Ovechkin, and potentially follow him as captain, also is important for Wilson.

"I've had a pretty cool perspective coming into DC with 'Ovi' and players like that," he said. "To be a part of a group like that is pretty special, and then to be able to learn from him, watch him, help him in whatever way I can do his thing, has been pretty cool. You never take it for granted playing with someone that great and doing what he's doing. I think everybody in that room wants him to have the utmost individual success going forward and we all know what that means. So we're going to keep pushing. A good team and a team that's winning games means he's scoring goals and we're checking both those boxes at the same time.

"He's been amazing to me, an amazing leader. He's taken me under his wing and he's had lots of conversations about ... maybe four or five years down the road, or whenever it is, what it means to be a leader and he's been fairly vocal with me the last little while about that. It just speaks to his character and how much he cares about his teammates and I just try and soak it all in."

MacLellan also sees Wilson as a big part of the off-ice leadership group.

"I think he's learned a lot over the years," MacLellan said. "He's won a (Stanley) Cup. He got to play as a young guy with some solid veteran guys ahead of him and now he's become that guy. We're looking for him to help when young guys come in, how to be a professional, how to handle yourself off the ice, how to handle yourself in the community and how to play the game the right way and how to practice the game the right way. I think he's had a great education through his first 10, 11 years and he'll continue to provide us that going forward, which I think is a huge part of what we accomplished here with this contract."

NHL.com independent correspondent Harvey Valentine contributed to this report