Washington Capitals
Data Shows Capitals’ Tom Wilson Truly Lives ‘Rent Free’ In Critics’ Heads
Throughout his career, Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson has developed into one of the NHL’s most popular players — for better or worse. He’s a skilled fighter and top-6 winger who’s unafraid to drop the gloves and knows how to get under other people’s skin. At the same time, controversial plays and a tough reputation earn him criticism from fans and teams alike.
Numbers do reveal, though, that Wilson truly lives in the heads of haters “rent-free.”
Survey Shows Tom Wilson Leads Most Trolled NHL Players
Data compiled by onlinecasino.ca reveals that the Capitals tough guy receives the most negative reception across social media. The analysis examined 250,000 social media posts of the top 20 most discussed NHL athletes, as well as the percentage of positive and negative comments from fans.
This chart breaks down each player’s mentions and percentage of positive, negative and neutral feedback. Wilson leads with 47.9 percent negative criticism over 19,020 mentions. New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin ranks second with 47.8 percent of his 11,350 mentions being unfavorable.
NHL Player | total mentions | positive | neutral | negative |
Tom Wilson | 19020 | 36.8% | 15.3% | 47.9% |
Artemi Panarin | 11350 | 41.7% | 10.5% | 47.8% |
T.J. Oshie | 8880 | 45.9% | 8.8% | 45.3% |
William Nylander | 10550 | 41.8% | 14.8% | 43.4% |
Evander Kane | 5150 | 49.5% | 8.5% | 43.4% |
Phil Kessel | 4320 | 43.4% | 15.2% | 41.4% |
Patrik Laine | 3939 | 48.1% | 13.5% | 38.4% |
Patrick Kane | 6540 | 47.3% | 15.4% | 37.3% |
Brad Marchand | 19980 | 51.0% | 11.8% | 37.2% |
Alex Ovechkin | 15070 | 50.9% | 12.7% | 36.4% |
Vladimir Tarasenko | 6030 | 51.1% | 13.1% | 35.8% |
Jack Hughes | 4410 | 51.9% | 16.5% | 31.6% |
Kris Letang | 5010 | 54.2% | 14.3% | 31.5% |
David Pastrnak | 13630 | 60.6% | 9.6% | 29.8% |
Brendan Gallagher | 14030 | 51.0% | 19.4% | 29.6% |
Evgeni Malkin | 9730 | 58.1% | 12.4% | 29.5% |
P.K. Subban | 4320 | 54.4% | 17.7% | 27.9% |
Carey Price | 44950 | 52.2% | 22.6% | 25.2% |
Taylor Hall | 20840 | 57.9% | 17.8% | 24.3% |
Connor McDavid | 27890 | 59.2% | 19.1% | 21.7% |
Wilson faced significant criticism near the end of the 2020-21 campaign following a controversial fight with Panarin that ended his season. After the play, New York issued a statement on the play, calling out Wilson as well as NHL Department of Player Safety head George Parros. Wilson didn’t receive a suspension but was fined $5,000 for roughing Pavel Buchnevich.
Wilson was taken 16th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and has dished 91 goals, 221 points and 1,123 PIM through 569 career games.