From Alexeyev to Wilson, we’re taking a look at and grading the 2023-24 season for every player who laced ‘em up for the Washington Capitals for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2024-25. Next up, T.J. Oshie.
The Bio:
#77 | Right Wing | Shoots: Right
Height: 6’0” | Weight: 195 | Born: December 23, 1986
Birthplace: Mount Vernon, Washington | Acquired: Traded to Washington on July 2, 2015
Cap Hit: $5,750,000 | Signed Through: 2024-25 | Expiry Status: Unrestricted Free Agent
The Scouting Report (via CapFriendly):
Report: November 2023 | Rating: 78 | Projection: Third Line
- His offense has tapered off in recent years, but he empties the tank for the good of the group.
- Plays consistently hard between the whistles.
- Brings a combination of energy and better than average skill.
- Middle bumper on PP#2.
- Competes to extend plays.
- Tracks back the full 200ft.
- Pace is average plus.
The Stats:
The Charts:
The Key Stat: TJ Oshie played in his 1,000th career NHL game this season, which is an impressive milestone for any player but was especially significant for a player like Oshie with an extensive injury history. No one, Oshie included, was sure this milestone would ever happen for him.
The Good: Since his arrival in DC in 2015, TJ Oshie has been the heart and soul of the Washington Capitals. The energy that he brings to the team both on and off the ice is very special and hard to replace. Sports media likes to talk about the “intangibles” a player has, and Oshie has those in spades. He leaves it all on the ice every game, and his combination of high energy and high hockey IQ makes him difficult to play against and a key player of the Caps’ lineup. The Capitals went 28-18-6 when Oshie was in the lineup, a .596 points percentage, and 12-13-5 when he was out, a .483 points percentage.
Oshie is also an important piece of Washington’s power play, helping to get set plays going and scoring greasy goals in front of the net. He scored 12 goals in 52 games this season, and 7 of them were on the power play—that was second-most on the team behind Alex Ovechkin’s 13 PPGs.
The Bad: Oshie’s defensive play, or lack thereof, has always been an issue, but it was particularly noticeable this season. Among players who skated at least 100 minutes for the Caps this year, Oshie had the third-worst 5v5 xGA/60 at 2.96, behind just Kuznetsov (3.07) and Ovechkin (3.04). He also had the fifth-worst 5v5 CF% at 44.41%.
Unfortunately, TJ Oshie was also in an incredible amount of pain this season, and he missed 30 games due to injury. He could barely move when his back pain was at its worst, and he needed several emergency visits from his Minnesota chiropractor since January 23. His teammates said throughout the season how impressed they were with his resilience, but playing through injuries and lingering issues is not sustainable. His offensive production has been inconsistent for the last few seasons and took a pretty sharp decline this year—this was the first season in his career where he averaged less than 2 PTS/60. More importantly, however, is that his health for the rest of his life could be impacted. GM Brian MacLellan has said that the team will stand by him with whatever he decides, so the future of Oshie’s career is up to him. Has he played his last NHL game? Only he can answer that question.
The Video:
The Discussion: TJ Oshie has made it clear that he’d love to continue playing hockey, but he’s also made it clear that he doesn’t know if that’s possible. How likely do you think it is that Caps fans have seen him play his last NHL game? How do you weigh Oshie’s intangibles against his declining on-ice play? What is your favorite memory of Oshie during his tenure (so far) as a Capital? And finally, what would it take for you to give Oshie a 10 next season?
The Vote: Rate T.J. Oshie below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – so if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.