The Washington Capitals have made their first splash of the summer, and it’s keeping a key part of its team from the past two seasons. Before the first round of the NHL Draft started Friday night, Washington re-signed right wing T.J. Oshie to an eight-year, $46 million deal that will carry an annual salary cap hit of $5.75 million.
Oshie was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, and this deal will run until he’s 38. Oshie tied captain Alex Ovechkin for the team lead in scoring with 33 goals, and he also had the league’s highest shooting percentage at 23.1. The Capitals acquired Oshie from St. Louis before the 2015-16 season, sending forward Troy Brouwer, goaltender prospect Pheonix Copley and a draft pick to the Blues in exchange.
In the two years since, Oshie has scored 107 points and twice set career marks in goals. He has spent the majority of those two seasons as the right wing complement to Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom. The season before his arrival, Ovechkin and Backstrom shuffled through nine different right wingers on their line, and Oshie offered stability.
Two days after Washington’s season ended, Oshie expressed a desire to return, and the interest was mutual.
“T.J.’s a big part of our hockey team,” Coach Barry Trotz said last month. “He’s what you look for in a Washington Capital. You talk about someone who’s passionate, T.J.’s passionate. Someone who plays with joy, he plays with joy. Someone who’s got creativity in his game, T.J. has that. Someone who’s got a lot of competitive spirit in his game, T.J. has that. Can he play and be a productive player for us? T.J. can do that. All those things he’s saying is all the things that we’re saying. I think Mac and him will probably discuss that, and hopefully we get something done.”
The massive deal could handcuff Washington from making a splash with other offseason moves. The Capitals still have five restricted free agents, including Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov, who could receive long-term deals, and General Manager Brian MacLellan has said that he won’t be buying out any players this summer.
One potential wish-list item for Washington is a top-four defenseman after Nate Schmidt was swiped in the expansion draft, but it’s now unclear if the Capitals will be able to afford that without a corresponding move to clear roster.