Olympic hockey star explains why he risked ejection to fight player that was suspended for rest of Games

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Tom Wilson found himself in no-man’s land over the weekend.

An enforcer in the NHL, the Team Canada star knew that dropping the gloves with France's Pierre Crinon could get him booted from Olympic competition — just as it had with the Frenchman himself.

The two men fought with about seven minutes left to play in the match that Canada won 10-2. Both players were ejected from the game under Olympic rules, but France's hockey federation took it a step further and suspended Crinon for the rest 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 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 15, 2026, in Milan, Italy.  (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)

Wilson, a member of the Washington Capitals, appeared to seek some payback for teammate Nathan MacKinnon taking a hard hit earlier 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 fully.

"It was kind of a dirty hit, and it's a little bit different in the Olympics, how you have to go about it. I obviously ended up with the same guy who had done it," Wilson said to the New York Post. 

"Hockey is an emotional game. It's a competitive game. And when you come together with a big guy, you kind of have to make the decision quickly and the gloves came off. Got thrown down to the ice, and then from there, it's just kind of a bit of a melee. I mean, it's