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Tom Wilson found himself in no man’s land this weekend.
An NHL enforcer, the Team Canada star knew that dropping the gloves with Frenchman Pierre Crinon could get him kicked out of Olympic competition – just as it had with the Frenchman himself.
The two men fought with about seven minutes remaining in the match, which Canada won 10-2. Both players were ejected from the game under Olympic rules, but the French hockey federation went even 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 battle in the third period during the Men’s Preliminary Group A match between Canada and France on the ninth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic 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 seeking revenge for the hard hit teammate Nathan MacKinnon received earlier in the game, but it was clear that Crinon wanted to take it to the next level, as Wilson, the NHL’s active leader in penalty minutes, held back to some extent, but not completely.
“It was kind of a dirty trick, and the way you do it is a little different in the Olympics. I obviously 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’re going against a big player, you kind of have to make a decision quickly and the gloves come off. You’re thrown on the ice, and from there it’s just a bit of a scrum. I mean, it’s fight or flight at that point, you’re just figuring out what you need to do. Obviously the game was a little out of control, so it wasn’t a big deal with five minutes to play. the game there, I could potentially get sent off, I just wanted to defend our team.
France’s Pierre Crinon fights with Canada’s Tom Wilson during the men’s ice hockey Group A preliminary match between Canada and France at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Zhang Haofu/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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The French hockey federation determined that Crinon’s actions were contrary to its values and announced that he would no longer play for it in the Olympics. France lost its playoff qualifying game, 5-1, to Germany on Tuesday, marking the end of its series on the ice.
“The provocative behavior of Pierre Crinon when he left the ice, when he had just been excluded from the match for fighting, constitutes a flagrant violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport,” declared the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG), via Reuters.
Pierre Crinon of Team France fights with Tom Wilson of Team Canada during the Group A ice hockey match between Team Canada and Team France on the ninth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 15, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Xavier Lainé/Getty Images)
“The decision was therefore taken, in full agreement with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, not to authorize his participation in the next match(es) of the Olympic tournament.”
