Tom Wilson has made plenty of enemies over his NHL career, but few have hated him enough to literally ban him from their establishment.
With Wilson and his Capitals teammates in Raleigh ahead of Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes, the local Rialto Theater says he’ll have to go elsewhere if he wants to catch a movie or a show while in town.
The century-old theater and event venue, located just under five miles away from Lenovo Center, took a jab at Wilson on their exterior marquee, per the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga.
“All are welcome except Tom Wilson,” the sign reads.
Though beloved in DC, Wilson isn’t too popular with opposing fanbases, most recently going viral for his crybaby taunts and a bench brawl in Round 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Against the Hurricanes, however, he’s made a bigger impact during play than between the whistles. He was arguably Washington’s strongest player in their Game 2 win on Thursday, recording a two-point night (1g, 1a) and making several defensive plays to keep the Capitals in the game.
Spencer Carbery argued last month that, underneath other clubs’ dislike of Wilson, they actually wished he could be on their side.
“He’s one of those guys in sports that every opposing team despises him but would take him in a second,” he said. “Almost the hatred comes from a, ‘I wish we had him.’ It really does, and that’s a credit to him.”
The Capitals haven’t exactly received a warm welcome in Raleigh even before the Rialto Theater banned Wilson from the premises. With a reputation as one of the hardest buildings to play in as the away team, the fans at Lenovo Center were out in full force in Game 3 as the Capitals gave up a dismal 4-0 loss.
After playing in the notorious Bell Centre in the first round, the Capitals hoped they could build on those games in Raleigh.
“We will rely on some of that experience of playing in, you could argue, two of the most difficult buildings – Montreal and Carolina – in the League,” Carbery said ahead of Game 3. “So, it’s good we can rely on that experience.”
Those efforts didn’t pay off on Saturday, but the Caps are still confident they can win Game 4, no matter how unwelcome they are in the arena — or its nearby movie theaters.
“We split at home, now our job is to split here,” Pierre-Luc Dubois said Sunday. “We have next game to get ready for. There’s no panic. We know what we can do better. We’ve done it this year.”
