Greg Wyshynski, ESPNMar 24, 2024, 08:10 AM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan still remembers his first glimpse at T.J. Oshie’s medical report when he acquired the then 28-year-old forward from the St. Louis Blues in 2015.
“I was like, ‘Holy f—, this guy’s got some miles on him.’ He had all these things on the report,” MacLellan recalled this week. “I didn’t have any idea this was going on. We ended up doing the trade anyway, but I wondered how long this would last.”
“If you had asked me if he’d play a thousand games back then, I would’ve said ‘no.'”
Oshie, now 37, became the 390th skater in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game milestone on March 16 against the Vancouver Canucks. His intensity, physicality and willingness to compete for every inch of ice made him an impact player for the Blues and the Capitals over 16 seasons.
But that style of play also took its toll. Oshie played over 75 games just four times in his career. Upper-body injuries, lower-body injuries, surgeries, a series of concussions — Oshie has experienced it all.
“It’s got to go down as a thousand of the hardest games ever played in the NHL,” said Karl Alzner, Oshie’s former teammate with the Capitals.
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Some players chase benchmarks for goals or points. Ever since he entered the league, Oshie targeted the 1,000-game plateau as his career measuring stick.
“There’s no other milestones that I really set for myself in my career,” he told ESPN this week. “I looked up to the guys that came before me that reached the thousand-game mark, seeing the ceremonies and the silver sticks they’d receive. It’s a pretty cool thing and it’s tough to do.”
Oshie is being honored for his achievement on Sunday, before the Capitals’ home game against the Winnipeg Jets. His teammates will wear his number during warmups. The team and the NHL have gifts to present him.
There were certainly times Oshie wasn’t convinced he’d earn the…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39792823/nhl-tj-oshie-capitals-blues-trade-ovechkin-games-stanley-cup
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-03-24 12:58:58
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