TJ Oshie was noticeably the final player to leave the ice after the Washington Capitals were eliminated by the New York Rangers from the playoffs on Sunday.
After hugging Tom Wilson, Oshie stayed on the Capital One Arena ice for an extra moment to take in the crowd and wave before walking down the runway to the locker room.
Oshie, an alternate captain for the Capitals, did not talk to the press after the game. Dylan Strome revealed he played with a broken hand during a postgame interview.
— Mahesh P (@UnleashTheHeshy) April 29, 2024
“Guy’s a warrior, man,” Spencer Carbery said postgame. “He just is such an impressive player, all the things he does on the ice. Just how he carries himself, the way he plays the game, every single shift he plays like this is going to be it for him. And it’s so impressive for me to have coached him for a year now.
“All the things that he battled through to get to 1,000 games and his injuries and just trying to help the team get into the playoffs. I could sit up here and talk for 10 minutes about Osh and what he means to our team.”
— Cornelius (@CorneliusGibb) April 29, 2024
Oshie’s gesture comes as he missed 30 games in 2023-24 due to a myriad of injuries including reoccurring back issues that required him to see a chiropractor multiple times this season. The 37-year-old forward has missed 92 games due to injury over the last three Capitals campaigns.
“If it is his last game, he’s a hell of a warrior, hell of a guy,” Dylan Strome said.
The five-time 20-goal scorer in Washington made personal sacrifices, too, to get through the season. He revealed in October he was giving up golf, his favorite sport outside of hockey, for the rest of his playing career to manage his back issues. Late in the season, though, Oshie promoted his participation in a celebrity golf tournament in June.
Playing primarily on the first line in the postseason, Oshie had one assist in the series. He had 25 points (12, 13a) in 52 regular-season games during the 2023-24 campaign.
Oshie has one season remaining on an eight-year, $46 million deal he originally signed in 2017. His cap his is $5.75 million.
