The Capitals traded away right winger Troy Brouwer, goaltender Pheonix Copley and a third round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft for St. Louis Blues right winger T.J. Oshie.
For the past two days a trusted source had been relaying to Sports Journey that the Capitals were working on a trade. A few names were mentioned in the trade talks but the most notable ones relayed were New York Islanders right winger Kyle Okposo and Oshie.
Today, the Capitals completed a trade for the latter.
A native of Everett, Washington, Oshie registered 19 goals, 36 assists for 55 points in 72 games with the Blues last season. In 2013-2014, he set career highs with 21 goals, 39 assists for 60 points. As well he added a career high five game-winning goals and a +19 in plus/minus.
Oshie is mostly known for being a shootout specialist. During the 2009-2010 season, he led the Blues in this category and was third in the NHL with a 62.5% shootout shooting percentage.
During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Oshie lead the United States past the host nation in a dramatic shootout where head coach Dan Bylsma let Oshie shoot six times. He went four-of-six- and won it in the eighth round.
“I’m looking to fit in wherever they think is best for me,” Oshie added about the possibility of being on the Capitals top line.
Oshie is likely to join Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom on the Capitals first line.
“I’d feel like a kid in a candy store, I guess, playing with that caliber of player,” he continued about playing with Ovechkin.
The right winger has registered 110 goals, 200 assists for 310 points in 443 career NHL games.
“T.J. is an outstanding skater with tremendous skill set. He is a powerful player and has a consistent track record of production throughout his career in the NHL,” Washington General Manager Brian MacLellan said via a press release about the trade. “We feel that he complements our core group nicely and can help us get to the next level in achieving our ultimate goal.”
The Capitals now have just under $13.9 million left on their salary cap going into the 2015-2016 season with goaltender Braden Holtby, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, and left winger Marcus Johansson still yet to sign as Restricted Free Agents.
“We also want to thank Troy for his contributions to our organization on and off the ice and wish him well in St. Louis,” MacLellan added.
Brouwer recorded 21 goals, 22 assists for 43 points for the team in the 2014-2015 campaign. He has tallied 132 goals, 123 assists for 255 points in 531 career games with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals combined.