Tom Wilson not named in anonymous ‘most punchable’ NHL player poll after previously threatening to fight someone who listed him
Tom Wilson will no longer have any anonymous targets to hunt down after The Athletic published the results of their latest anonymous player poll.
Wilson, who one anonymous respondent listed as having the “most punchable face” in the league during the 2023-24 season, did not appear when players were asked the same question this year. When asked about where he ranked two seasons ago, Wilson responded by saying, “I’d probably punch that guy in the face, too,” which could have been threatening enough to keep him off the most recent list.
While Wilson didn’t make the cut again, the top three from the previous poll remain the same. Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins (24.3 percent) retains his top spot, world-renowned pest Brad Marchand (19.6 percent) stays second, and Matthew Tkachuk (10.3 percent) ranks third once more despite not yet playing a game this season.
“I can’t stand him,” a player said of Cousins. “I heard he’s a good guy, but I’d still love to punch him in the face.”
“Little rat,” another succinctly said about Marchand.
“Matthew is an a**hole in front of the net,” one reply said of Tkachuk.
Wilson’s lack of acknowledgement may stem from his overall decreased willingness to drop the gloves in games, as he has not been involved in more than five fights in a season since the 2021-22 campaign. He had previously gotten into over 10 fights in a season, three times earlier in his career.
The 31-year-old forward has not been suspended for a hit since the 2020-21 season, although he did sit for six games near the end of the 2023-24 campaign for high-sticking Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor. He is also on the record saying he now gives opposing players a verbal heads-up before delivering big body checks.
Since he fully entered the NHL for his rookie 2013-14 season, Wilson leads the league in penalty minutes (1,586), with the next closest player, Patrick Maroon (1,075), not even within 500 minutes of him. Wilson, now arguably one of the top two-way forwards in the league, ranks fifth in the league this season in PIMs with 54, to go along with his 32 points (17g, 15a) in 30 games.
One current Capitals player did get a single vote in this year’s poll, regular checking-line winger Brandon Duhaime. The rambunctious Duhaime was named the best chirper or trash talker on the Capitals by his teammates during training camp.
Other players with Caps connections on the poll include former winger Garnet Hathaway, who received 2.8 percent of the vote, and former defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who, like Duhaime, received a single vote.
