Former Capitals Coach Ron Wilson Suffers A Stroke

Barstool Sports

The Caps have been to the Stanley Cup Final only once in their 42-year history, in 1998. Their coach that season, Ron Wilson, hasn’t coached in the NHL in a few years, but today, he’s back in the news.

Wilson, 61, has suffered a stroke, according to Helene Elliott of the LA Times and is currently in rehab.

Former Ducks and US national team coach Ron Wilson had a stroke and is in rehab, according to several of his friends.

— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) December 14, 2016

Wilson coached the Capitals for five seasons after being hired by the team in the summer of 1997. In his first season, he led the Caps to their first (and only) Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history, finishing with 40 wins, 30 losses, and 12 ties (the shootout wasn’t implemented until 2005).

Over his next four seasons, the Caps had varying degrees of success, and in his final season (2001-02), finished with a 36-33-11 record. He was fired after the season; in his five years behind the bench, Wilson went 206-122-19-38 (OT losses), good enough for a .609 winning percentage. Wilson last coached the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011-12.

Here’s wishing Coach Wilson a full and quick recovery.

By Michael Fleetwood

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A post shared by NoVa Caps (@nova_caps) on Nov 21, 2016 at 2:04pm PST

About Michael Fleetwood

Michael Fleetwood was born into a family of diehard Capitals fans and has been watching games as long as he can remember. He was born the year the Capitals went to their first Stanley Cup Final, and is a diehard Caps fan, the owner of the very FIRST Joe Beninati jersey and since then, has met Joe himself. Michael joined the NoVa Caps team in 2015, and is most proud of the growth of the NoVa Caps community in that time. An avid photographer, Michael resides in VA.

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