Report: Capitals' Wilson to appeal to 3rd-party arbitrator

Tom Wilson is taking his case to the next level.

The Washington Capitals forward will appeal his 20-game suspension to a third-party arbitrator after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman elected to uphold the ban, a source told Sportsnet's John Shannon.

According to Gary Bettman's 31-page ruling on the Tom Wilson appeal, the NHLPA argued that Wilson should've only received an 8-game suspension.

- Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) October 25, 2018

Wilson was handed the suspension after he leveled St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist with a blindside hit during the preseason. He has currently served nine games of the ban and is eligible to return to the lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 21.

#NHLPA has officially filed an appeal on behalf of Tom Wilson. It will be heard by neutral arbitrator Shyam Das on Oct. 31 in New York.

- Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 26, 2018

The 24-year-old inked a six-year, $31-million extension in July.

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