The Washington Capitals will celebrate TJ Oshie on Sunday at Capital One Arena after the veteran forward reached the 1,000-game milestone during the team’s recent, five-game road trip.
The Capitals have already announced a pregame ceremony where Oshie will receive a special gift from the NHL, the organization, and his teammates.
But on Tuesday, the organization revealed more details of the day and there’s one very sweet thing that they’re doing to honor Oshie’s late father, Tim.
All Capitals players will wear number 77 jerseys during warmups. The team will then autograph the jerseys and auction them off in a TJ1K auction benefitting the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. The foundation dedicates itself to accelerating the development of drugs to prevent, treat, and cure Alzheimer’s disease.
Oshie’s father Tim passed away in 2021 and had been living with early-onset Alzheimer’s since at least 2012.
“He was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 48,” Oshie said in 2019 on a podcast. “Eventually, without a cure, this is the way it goes. Eventually, you stop remembering people and you stop remembering things that happened in your life. He’s at the point now, and he was then, he can remember peoples’ names and if you talk to him for a couple minutes you wouldn’t even know. He’d be joking around telling you dirty jokes and making you laugh. But, when you’re around him for a little bit he kind of starts forgetting things. He’ll ask me what time the game is if it’s in the summer. Just things like that.”
Oshie got to lift the Stanley Cup with his dad, who was nicknamed Coach, after the Capitals won their first championship in 2018.
Reflecting on the occasion moved him to tears — a moment that still sticks with many Capitals fans.
Oshie has helped raise money for Alzheimer’s research and foundations throughout his career. Back in 2017, he participated in the Alzheimer’s Association’s “The Longest Day” campaign. The Longest Day is held annually on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and participants spend the day doing an activity they love while raising pledge funds. Oshie chose to play golf, his father’s favorite activity.
Additionally, he and his family have been regular participants in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and helped organize a broomball tournament in 2020 that raised over $40,000 for the ADDF. His regular, continued efforts led to him being awarded by the ADDF for his contributions and plight to find a cure for the disease.
“Thank you everyone for this award, it really is an honor and we’re going to get this,” Oshie said then. “We’re going to cure this, but we’re going to need everyone.”
Oshie’s company Warroad also released a “Coach” hat in 2022 to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. You can still purchase it at the link provided.
Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:
Capitals to Honor T.J. Oshie for 1,000th NHL Game in Pregame Ceremony Sunday, March 24
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation TJ1K Auction Featuring Special Oshie Warmup Jerseys to Benefit Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Arlington, Va. – The Washington Capitals announced today the organization will honor forward T.J. Oshie for reaching the 1,000 career NHL games milestone on Sunday, March 24, when the Capitals host the Winnipeg Jets at Capital One Area at 12:30 p.m. Oshie appeared in his 1,000th NHL game on March 16 against the Vancouver Canucks. During the ceremony, Oshie will receive a special gift from the National Hockey League, the organization, and his teammates.
Capitals players will wear #77 jerseys during warmups, which will be signed and auctioned off in a Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation TJ1K Jersey Auction to benefit the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, whose mission is to rapidly accelerate the development of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s disease.
The fundraiser will open at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 24 at WashCaps.com/TJ1K and close at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3. All jerseys will have “Buy Now” pricing, where bidders will be able to purchase the jerseys at set prices.
All fans in attendance will receive a T.J. Oshie rally towel in commemoration of the milestone, designed by 500 LEVEL. Fans are also encouraged to use the #TJ1K hashtag on social media.
A special ticket offer includes 4 tickets for $177 in honor of Oshie. Click here to purchase the special ticket offer.
Oshie played in his 1,000th career game on March 16 against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Oshie became the 390th skater in NHL history, the 41st active skater and the 62nd U.S.-born skater to reach the 1,000-game milestone. Oshie is the 12th player to reach the 1,000-game mark in a Capitals sweater and the first since Nicklas Backstrom (April 15, 2021). Since joining the Capitals ahead of the 2015-16 season, Oshie (191g) ranks second on Washington in goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (368g).
Monumental Sports Network will provide comprehensive coverage and extensive multiplatform content on the new Monumental Sports Network app throughout the historic day, including Oshie mic’d up for the ceremony and the game.
About The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s disease. The ADDF is the only public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer’s, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. The ADDF’s leadership and contributions to the field have played a pivotal role in bringing the first Alzheimer’s PET scan (Amyvid®) and blood test (PrecivityAD®) to market, as well as fueling the current robust and diverse drug pipeline. Through the generosity of its donors, the ADDF has awarded more than $290 million to fund over 750 Alzheimer’s drug discovery programs, biomarker programs and clinical trials in 20 countries. To learn more, please visit: http://www.alzdiscovery.org/.
