TJ Oshie’s next career move was officially announced on Thursday afternoon.
The former Washington Capitals winger, who retired from the NHL this past June, will serve as a studio and game analyst for ESPN during the 2025-26 season. The national NHL broadcast network delivered the news via its PR social media accounts.
“ESPN signs #NHL Stanley Cup Champion @TJOshie77,” the X post reads.
The news comes after Oshie also signed on as a contributor to local Capitals broadcasts with Monumental Sports Network this season. The veteran of nine seasons with the Capitals will be a busy traveler throughout the 2025-26 campaign after moving his family back to Minnesota over the summer.
“I’m hoping I get into some broadcasts,” Oshie said in September. “I will be doing things with the Caps on a part-time basis. I want to be linked with them for as long as I possibly can, because I love the organization so much, them and Monumental.”
Oshie has previously appeared on ESPN in a broadcasting role, serving as a guest analyst during last spring’s Western Conference Final. While speaking to the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Oshie told Paul Bissonnette, another NHL alum who serves as an analyst on TNT, that he had hoped to build on that opportunity in the 2025-26 season.
“[The ESPN appearance] was fun,” he said. “I give so much more credit to you guys that go on the broadcast with that thing in your ear. It is like — first time I had it in was right when we went live, and I was like, ‘What? I feel like I just hit someone and lost my hearing in one ear.’ It was nuts. It was so hard. But it is fun.
“But yeah, we’ll see. I hope I’m on the broadcast for a couple games. I’m not sure, Biz, if it will be at your side (at TNT) or somewhere else, but I do enjoy it, and it’s a way for me to stay in the game. And I don’t have the time to commit to coaching, so. But we’ll see.”
ESPN recently had its three leading NHL broadcast talent, Steve Levy, Ray Ferraro, and Emily Kaplan, sit down with the media for a preview discussion on the upcoming season and ESPN’s Opening Night tripleheader on Tuesday, October 7.
“We need to be aggressively covering the stories of this league,” Kaplan said. “We’re also going to need participation of people in this league. We’re not used to sharing that type of information, and understanding that we have a true opportunity here at ESPN, with the reach that we have to so many casual sports fans, to get them to care about our sport, which is an incredible sport.
“Anyone who watches hockey knows how amazing it is. Just get in the door and you’ll find out. I’m hopeful that we’ll have more of a presence, specifically in a Stanley Cup year, on the daytime programming, on top of all of these big stories. I think that we always do show up in these big moments.”
Oshie’s presence, as a very recent player involved in the day-to-day of the league, should help the network achieve some of those goals. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so as ESPN will exclusively broadcast 100 games this season.
