Home / News / The Washington Capitals traded for TJ Oshie six years ago today

The Washington Capitals traded for TJ Oshie six years ago today

By Ian Oland

 2 Comments

July 2, 2021 3:58 pm

Happy Oshiversary, everybody!

On July 2, 2015, the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues completed a blockbuster deal that sent shockwaves around the hockey world. The Capitals acquired dynamite forward TJ Oshie from the St. Louis Blues for veteran Stanley Cup-winner Troy Brouwer, prospect goaltender Pheonix Copley, and a 2016 third-round pick (that eventually turned into first-round pick Tage Thompson).

The move was one of several important acquisitions that then-new general manager Brian MacLellan made that eventually got the Capitals over the hump and led them to their first Stanley Cup in 2018.

Friday, the Capitals celebrated by posting video of Oshie and his young family arriving in DC after the deal was announced.

Tom Wilson celebrated on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Oshie tweeted a heart.

Since the trade was made, Oshie has become a fan favorite in Washington, scoring over 20 goals in five of his six seasons in DC (after only doing that once in his seven seasons with St. Louis). Oshie scored a career-high 33 goals during the 2016-17 season — his second season in Washington — and finished 19th in Selke voting that year. Oshie was one of the most valuable members of the Capitals’ Cup team in 2018, tallying 21 points (8g, 13a) in 24 games and leading the team in power-play goals (6).

The deal arguably turned out good for both sides. Both teams won Stanley Cups (Capitals, 2018; Blues, 2019) and if you consider what Tage Thompson helped net the Blues in a trade, the deal was practically even.

On July 1, 2018, the Blues sent Thompson along with Vladimír Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, a 2019 first-round draft pick, and a 2021 second-round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly would go on to win the Conn Smythe in that year’s playoffs and help lead the Blues to their first-ever Cup win.

Here’s the major players in the trade and how they performed for their respective teams.

TJ Oshie, WSH

The Osh Babe has scored 300 points in 413 games with Washington and is under contract through 2025.

Games Goals Assists Points
413 150 150 300

Troy Brouwer, STL

Troy Brouwer helped lead the Blues to the Western Conference Final in 2016. During his one season in St. Louis after the trade (we’re ignoring his 2019-20 year when he re-signed), he scored 18 goals and 39 points in 82 games.

Games Goals Assists Points
82 18 21 39

Pheonix Copley, STL

Copley played in only two games for St. Louis. He later came back to the Capitals after the Kevin Shattenkirk trade deadline deal and remains in Washington to this day. Copley served as the team’s third goalie during the Cup year and was Braden Holtby’s backup in 2018-19.

Games Wins GAA SV%
2 0 4.32 .829

Tage Thompson, STL

After two seasons at the University of Connecticut, Thompson left for the NHL where he posted nine points in 41 games for St. Louis during the 2017-18 season. Thompson was part of the deal that brought Ryan O’Reilly to the Blues.

Games Goals Assists Points
41 3 6 9

Ryan O’Reilly, STL

O’Reilly helped lead the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in 2019. He tied his career-high with 28 goals in 2018-19 and had a career-high in points that year (78). He was named the team’s captain ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Games Goals Assists Points
209 64 128 192

If we just focus on the forwards, the Capitals, in summary, have gotten 150 goals and 300 points out of Oshie while the Blues have gotten 85 points and 240 points out of three different forwards. Both teams have won Cups and St. Louis has their captain.

But if you ask me, the Capitals got the better of the deal.

Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk/RMNB

, ,