The Washington Capitals and forward T.J. Oshie have agreed to terms on a contract extension that will keep the veteran forward in Washington for the next eight years. The deal comes with a cap hit of $5.75 million and takes one of the top potential free agents from July 1 off the board just ahead of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The deal was originally reported by Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post and was later confirmed by the Capitals and Oshie himself.
Caps re-sign T.J. Oshie for eight years. AAV of $5.75 million.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) June 23, 2017
Oshie scored a career-high 33 goals this past season while recording 56 points in just 68 games. It was easily the best season of Oshie’s career and was topped off with four goals and 12 points in 13 playoff games. Oshie was originally acquired by the Capitals in a trade in 2015 that saw Oshie sent to Washington while Troy Brouwer was sent to the St. Louis Blues. Oshie scored a career-high 26-goals and tallied 51 points in 80 games in his first season with Washington before surpassing both of those totals in 12 fewer games last season.
“T.J. is an invaluable member of our team and we felt it was imperative for us to re-sign him in a competitive free agent market,” said Capitals’ general manager Brian MacLellan. “T.J. is a highly competitive player with a tremendous skill set; he epitomizes the kind of player our team must have in order for us to continue to put ourselves in a position to compete in this League.”
For the Capitals, Oshie was one of the best players on a loaded team that has taken home the last two Presidents’ Trophies. As the best team in the regular season for two consecutive seasons, the Capitals couldn’t afford to lose Nate Schmidt to the Expansion Draft while also losing Oshie and potentially Karl Alzner in free agency. Instead, the team took away one of the top free agents-to-be from the open market before any other team got a chance to talk to him. The deal came just over an hour before the start of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and took away some uncertainty that surrounded Oshie’s future. One report that was making the rounds Friday ahead of this extension was Oshie being a potential target for the Blackhawks on July 1 to play alongside Patrick Kane. Obviously, the Capitals had no intention of letting Oshie walk, locking him up for the long-haul.
Capitals Looking to Remain on Top
With this extension given to Oshie, it’s clear that the Capitals still see their window as being wide open. With a disappointing exit in the second-round of the playoffs at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the Capitals are now more hungry than ever to claim their first championship in franchise history. The window is still very much open for Washington depending on how the next few weeks play out for them – Oshie was just the first domino to fall.