Capitals' Tom Wilson to miss start of 2022-23 NHL season after knee surgery

The Washington Capitals fell to the Florida Panthers in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs but seemingly expected bad news regarding forward Tom Wilson before their final game of the postseason tournament. 

As Tom Gulitti explained for the NHL's website, Wilson will likely be sidelined for six to eight months after he underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that he suffered playing against the Panthers back on May 3. Per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), that timeline means Wilson is on track to miss at least the opening month of the 2022-23 season and possibly over 20 contests. 

According to ESPN stats, Wilson ended this past regular season fourth among Washington players with 52 points and tied for second on the team with 24 goals tallied across 78 games. While he initially wouldn't confirm he suffered a torn ACL, he admitted on May 15 that he was dealing with "a pretty significant injury" that cost him the remainder of the first-round playoff series. 

General manager Brian MacLellan later said Wilson wouldn't have returned to the lineup at any point this spring. 

"My summer sucks now,'' Wilson added at that time, per The AP (h/t ESPN). "It's going to be a grind for me. I've got to start my recovery. As an athlete, it's always nice to have goals and a clear mindset of what you need to do, and we're getting there with the doctors and stuff and we'll go from there."