Sports events are the most effective way of bringing passion and excitement to the home of viewers. However, sometimes this passion gets converted into aggression and often creates problems for the team and individual players. NHL sports have witnessed innumerable instances of aggression, but once an incident escalated to a point where the forward player, Tom Wilson, had to sit on the bench for a long time.

In the 2018 season of NHL, a match between Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues witnessed a horrific incident of over-aggression. 

Tom Wilson smashed Oskar Sundqvist’s head 

The incident happened during the final preseason game when Capital’s forward Tom Wilson collided with the centre Oskar Sundqvist. The impact was near fatal, as Wilson’s shoulder was smashed into Oskar’s head, which left him unconscious on the ice. Oskar Sundqvist curled forward in the air and fell on the ice.

The players of St. Louis Blues didn’t seem to take this act casually and chased Wilson. “They are going after Wilson for sure!” shouted the commentator. One of the players grabbed Wilson, but the referee intervened on time and handled the situation. Wilson was immediately ejected from the game, and the team awarded a penalty for his intention to injure the opponent. 

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The then Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, later announced the suspension of Tom Wilson from the next 20 games. The inquiry held him accountable for intentionally attacking Oskar Sundqvist with his shoulder. Oskar was bleeding from his right cheek after the collision. The league also ordered Wilson to forfeit 1.25 million dollars from his salary for the season. The punishment (fines) value went to the player’s emergency assistance fund. 

The long list of brawls in the NHL 

NHL sport has a long history of verbal spats that turned into ugly group fights during the match. Fans have witnessed multiple instances when the players lost their calm and did not maintain the dignity of the sport. The history of such ugly brawls dates back to 1922.

Some of the saddest days are among the numerous physical encounters that are still talked about. The 1979 absolute brawl between Boston Bruins and New York Rangers grabbed the global limelight after the punches and smashes happened in the middle of the rink. 2002, Bruins VS. Capitals, 2006 Hurricanes VS. Stars, and 2014 Flames VS. Canucks are some of the darkest instances in the history of the NHL.

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The administration claims to be making stricter rules for defaulters. However, according to specialists, there are still a lot of ambiguous areas that require attention. What are your thoughts on the NHL brawls? Let us know in the comments.