Peter Laviolette had about 18 hours to think about Tom Wilson’s hit on Brandon Carlo.
He’s learned nothing.
The Washington Capitals coach immediately after his Washington Capitals were undressed 5-1 by the Boston Bruins, took a pretty cavalier approach to addressing Wilson’s hit, which hospitalized Carlo. It was ugly, and did nothing but enable Wilson to continue to make predatory hits.
Regardless, the NHL disagrees, and is offering Wilson an in-person disciplinary hearing, which means it is considering suspending him for north of five games.
Laviolette was asked about the hit again Saturday afternoon, and, somehow, his answer was worse.
“I guess we’re still hopeful (he will play Sunday),” he said, via The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell. “I mean, to me, it was a hockey hit. If this is a suspendable play then all hitting really is going to probably have to be removed because he didn’t take any strides, he didn’t target the head, a player was up against the boards, he was upright and Tom hit him hard. I hope the player’s OK, but, for me, the call I think was correct on the ice last night. This hit happens so many times through the course of the game where somebody hits somebody against the boards and so I think we’re still hopeful that Tom will be available to us.
Nice of Laviolette to not even have the decency to refer to Carlo by his name.
The Caps head coach made clear where he stands on Wilson’s reckless play, and he’s complicit in whatever Washington’s goon elects to do from now on.
As for Carlo, he was released from the hospital Saturday morning.
