Tom Wilson Is Hockey’s Chief Villain. Or Is He?

The Washington Capitals forward plays like a freight train, and it gets him into trouble. He is the teammate that everyone wants and the opponent that everyone loves to hate.

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, according to some of his peers, is a menace. A bully. A punk. A goon. He is reckless, vicious, dirty, and bad for hockey. He might have fit in 30 years ago, but his conduct — illegal checks and high hits, at the price of five suspensions in his career — has no place in today’s safety-conscious N.H.L. Tom Wilson, according to others, is a really good dude. A leader. A unifying force. An excellent teammate. He is thoughtful, conscientious, attentive, and great in the Capitals’ locker room. He would have fit in 30 years ago, but his style — brawny and physical, with top-six skill and speed — is all the more coveted now as the league’s players trend toward smaller and faster. In a brutal sport full of paradoxes, no one tilts toward the extreme more than Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound pile of dynamite whose antics (or efforts) seem to elicit rage (or respect) darn near every game. His latest misadventure, a post-whistle scrum with two Rangers on May 3, earned him 14 of his league-leading 96 penalty minutes this season, a maximum $5,000 fine from the department of player safety and indignation across hockey’s empire over another incident that reinforced his standing as the N.H.L.’s chief villain. He also had a goal and an assist that night, as he surged toward the most points per game of his career (0.70).