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2026 Olympic
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Canada's Tom Wilson and France's Pierre Crinon got into a rare Olympics fight in the third period of their preliminary-round game. Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images
MILAN — Tom Wilson’s Canadian teammates loved every second of his scrap with France’s Pierre Crinon in Sunday’s group-stage game.
The French weren’t as amused.
Crinon has been suspended by the French Olympic federation for the rest of the Olympic tournament — likely just Tuesday’s qualification-round game against Germany — for his actions during and following the fight.
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The fight was precipitated by a high hit that Crinon laid on Canada star Nathan MacKinnon. Wilson, whose fiery persona and willingness to get physical helped him get on the team in the first place, engaged Crinon shortly after, and Crinon slammed Wilson face-first into the ice. Wilson got up and angrily went back at Crinon, and the two shoved each other a few times.
Crinon was egging on the pro-Canada crowd walking back to the locker room as they booed him.
“That’s just what Willy does,” Canada’s Brandon Hagel said of Wilson. “He sticks up for teammates. Obviously, we didn’t like what happened to Mac behind the net. That’s what you call a team. That’s why everyone praises and loves Tom Wilson, because that’s the stuff he does.”
According to the French release, Crinon’s “provocative behavior upon leaving the ice” was the main reason for his banishment, and explicitly not the fight itself (or the high hit, for that matter). The release said it was “a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”
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Mark Lazerus is a senior NHL writer for The Athletic based out of Chicago. He has covered the Blackhawks and the league at large for 13 seasons for The Athletic and the Chicago Sun-Times. He has been named one of the top three columnists in the country twice in the past three years by the Associated Press Sports Editors. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkLazerus
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