The Washington Capitals went into this offseason with a self-appointed mandate to add scoring on the wings, and with a couple of quick moves in the still-young 2015-16 NHL free agency period, the Caps, led by head coach Barry Trotz and GM Brian MacLellan have done just that.
Less than 24-hours after adding veteran Stanley Cup-winner Justin Williams on the open market, MacLellan landed forward TJ Oshie in trade with the St. Louis Blues in exchange for right wing Troy Brouwer, goaltender Pheonix Copley and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
"T.J. is an outstanding skater with a tremendous skill set," said MacLellan, via Caps Today. "He is a powerful player and has consistent track record of production throughout his career in the NHL. We feel that he complements our core group nicely and can help us get to the next level in achieving our ultimate goal. We also want to thank Troy for his contributions to our organization on and off the ice and wish him well in St. Louis."
Rumors had swirled for weeks of Oshie's availability - he comprised a portion of a "core" group of players that Blues GM Doug Armstrong was reportedly interested in breaking apart.
Despite the Blues disinterest in keeping him, the 28-year-old Oshie brings ample skill and ability to the ice on a nightly basis.
He posted career-highs in 2013-14 in goals (21), assists (39), points (60), game-winners (5) and plus-minus (+19). He followed that up with a less-stellar, but still quite promising 2014-15 season in which he amassed 19 goals and 36 assists in just 72 games.
Really, this trade seems like a win-win for both sides - the Blues desperately needed a change, even if the return wasn't particularly great, and the Caps were hard after more scoring on the wings.
Oshie should slot in quite easily in the Capitals top-six and the Blues and Armstrong have now freed up further cap room to sign Vladimir Tarasenko after locking up Jori Lehtera on Wednesday.
