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Tom Wilson found himself in no man’s land over the weekend.
Team Canada’s star, an NHL enforcer, knew that dropping the gloves on Frenchman Pierre Crinon could get him kicked out of Olympic competition, just as he had done with the Frenchman himself.
The two men fought with about seven minutes left to play in the game that Canada won 10-2. Both players were ejected from the game under Olympic rules, but the French hockey federation went a step further and suspended Crinon for the remainder of the Games.
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Tom Wilson of Team Canada and Pierre Crinon of Team France fight in the third period during the men’s preliminary group A match between Canada and France on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 15, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
Wilson, a member of the Washington Capitals, appeared to be looking for some revenge for the hard hit his teammate Nathan MacKinnon took early in the game, but it was clear that Crinon wanted to take things to the next level, as Wilson, the NHL’s active leader in penalty minutes, held back to an extent, but not entirely.
“It was a dirty hit, and in the Olympics it’s a little different the way you have to approach it. Obviously I ended up with the same guy who did it,” Wilson told the New York Post.
“Hockey is an emotional game. It’s a competitive game. And when you come up against a big guy, you have to make the decision quickly and you take the gloves off. They throw you out on the ice, and then from there, it’s kind of hand-to-hand. I mean, it’s fight or flight at that point, you’re just figuring out what you have to do. Obviously, the game was a little out of control, so it wasn’t a big deal with five minutes left. The game there where I could potentially get ejected, I just wanted to defend our team.”
Pierre Crinon of France fights with Tom Wilson of Canada during the men’s ice hockey preliminary round of the Group A match between Canada and France at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, on February 15, 2026. (Zhang Haofu/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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The French hockey federation determined that Crinon’s actions went against its values and announced that he would no longer play for them in the Olympics. France lost its playoff qualifying game, 5-1, to Germany on Tuesday, marking the end of its streak on the ice.
“Pierre Crinon’s provocative behavior in leaving the ice, despite having been excluded from the match for a fight, constitutes a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport,” the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) said, via Reuters.
Pierre Crinon of Team France fights with Tom Wilson of Team Canada during the Ice Hockey – Group A match between Team Canada and Team France on day nine of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Stadium on February 15, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
“Therefore, the decision was made, in full coordination with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, not to allow their participation in the next match or matches of the Olympic tournament.”
