MILAN – Tom Wilson made sure not to take things any further.
The bruising Canadian winger had just finished his check on Pierre Crinon after the French defenceman delivered a late, cheap forearm to the face of teammate Nathan MacKinnon earlier in the third period of a 10-2 blowout victory for the hockey power at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The gloves soon came off — a no-no in international play and the first fight at a Games since 1998 — as the hulking 225-pound combatants grappled in front of France’s net Sunday night.
Wilson went down early before getting back on his skates and briefly gaining the upper hand.
The players were already going to be kicked out of the game. The Canadian didn’t want to take himself out of the running for the quarterfinals with a suspension.
“When it started to get a little crazy there, he wasn’t stopping,” Wilson said Tuesday following practice in his first public comments since the scrap. “There’s a certain level of having to defend yourself. And then once I kind of got around on top, I was like, ‘OK, time to stop … it’s gone far enough.’
“The linesmen were trying to do their job, and you just don’t want to get carried away.”
Wilson, who was back on a line with Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini for practice with MacKinnon getting what the team called a “maintenance” day, felt the need to respond to a dirty sequence on one of Canada’s stars.
“It’s a little bit different in the Olympics, how you have to go about it,” said the 31-year-old with numerous NHL fights to his name for the Washington Capitals. “Ended up with the same guy who had done it. Hockey is an emotional game, it’s a competitive game, and when you come together with a big guy, you have to make the decision quickly. The gloves came off and I got thrown down to the ice.”
From there it turned into a “fight or flight” moment.
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“A bit of a melee,” Wilson said. “Game was out of hand, so it wasn’t a big deal with five minutes left that I could potentially get thrown out. I just wanted to stick up for our team.”
France, meanwhile, subsequently suspended Crinon for the remainder of the tournament — the country was eliminated Tuesday with a 5-1 loss to Germany in the qualification round — for taunting Wilson and the Canadian bench after the fisticuffs.
The French Ice Hockey Federation said Monday night Cronin’s conduct was “a clear violation of the Olympic spirit” and didn’t reflect the values expected of players representing the national team.
“It surprised me a little bit,” Wilson said of the ban. “Not really my decision.”
The Toronto native, meanwhile, also won’t be changing his style with Czechia on deck in Wednesday’s do-or-die encounter in the quarters at the first Games involving NHLers since 2014.
“It’s the same sport,” Wilson said. “Little bit of different rules, but at the end of the day, it’s hockey. It’s going to be really competitive. It’s going to be really physical. Every team is trying to hit us and come after us in their certain way … I want to be hard to play against.
“Stick up for my teammates and our country. It’s hockey. It’s the greatest sport for a reason. Tensions get high. There’s a lot of emotion.”
KEEPSAKE
French goaltender Julian Junca asked Canadian captain Sidney Crosby for one of his sticks in the handshake line Sunday. The pair also faced each other at last year’s world championship.
“That’s part of hockey,” Crosby said Tuesday. “You do that over the years, trade sticks and things, and it’s part of the experience.”
NO TINKERING
Canadian head coach Jon Cooper has mixed up his lines throughout the tournament, but the trio of Crosby, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone isn’t going anywhere.
“The line’s been really good,” Cooper explained. “Checks a lot of boxes, and smart players. There’s just a calmness about that line … I’m not breaking them up.”
SOAKING IT UP
Brad Marchand is at his first Olympics at age 37. The veteran forward missed Canada’s last two games with an undisclosed injury, but is available for the quarterfinal.
He’s also been making a point to enjoy his first Games experience.
“When you’re at the rink and on the ice, there’s a job to do,” Marchand said. “But it’s an incredible opportunity to be here.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
