Washington Capitals legend and Olympic hero TJ Oshie has announced his decision to hang up his skates after 16 years in the NHL.
The 38-year-old forward has just come to the end of an eight-year, $46million contract, after spending last season on long-term injured reserve with a chronic back injury.
At an event in Washington DC on Monday, he announced his decision to call it a day, seven years after winning the Stanley Cup with the Capitals.
Oshie scored four shootout goals for the US to help them beat host Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Oshie shared his news in front of hundreds of fans gathered at the fountains at Washington Harbour in Georgetown, seven years to the day of one of the most memorable Cup celebrations in hockey history when he and several teammates jumped into the fountains and took a dip.
‘I would like to thank the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love, all of my teammates who battled with me every night, my coaches who challenged me to be better every day and the athletic trainers and equipment staff who got me ready to play,’ Oshie said in a news release sent out by the NHLPA.
Oshie said in the spring of 2024 he would only return to the Capitals if he found a permanent solution or fix to the issue. His final game was at home on April 28 last year against the New York Rangers, a 4-2 loss in the first round that eliminated Washington in a sweep.
Taken 24th in the 2005 draft by St. Louis, Oshie played 1,116 regular-season and playoff games in the league with the Blues and Capitals since making his debut in 2008. He had 336 goals and 428 assists for 764 points, including 29 goals during Washington’s Cup run.
Oshie made an international name for himself at the Olympics, earning the nickname ‘T.J. Sochi’ for going 4 for 6 in shootout attempts against Sergei Bobrovsky during the U.S.-Russia preliminary round game in that tournament.
In the NHL, his biggest impact came after he was traded from the Blues to the Capitals in 2015. Oshie took on an immediate leadership role as a key addition to the core of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson, helping the team make the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in the nation’s capitals.
Oshie’s 76 power-play goals in D.C. are the fifth most in franchise history. He scored 49 times in the shootout, tied for third all time since it was implemented in 2005.
