In a disappointing effort up to this point, the Washington Capitals received more bad news involving their forward core during their game against the Edmonton Oilers. The team announced that T.J. Oshie left Friday's game with an upper-body injury, and will not return to the ice.
Before he had left, Oshie had nine shifts during the game, playing in just under seven minutes, and scoring zero points. Much like the rest of the Capitals’ offense this season, Oshie has struggled immensely in generating any production whatsoever. In 16 games played, Oshie has scored one goal and one assist, considerably lower than his point production over the last several years.
Over the life of the eight-year, $46M contract that Oshie signed before the start of the 2017-18 season, he has only managed to score 50 points in one year, having the rest of his seasons mired by injuries. Over 383 games played during this contract specifically, Oshie has scored a total of 122 goals and 133 assists which would be approximately 55 points a year over a full 82-game schedule if Oshie had remained healthy.
Oshie still has two years and $11.5M remaining on the contract, which could quickly become the last that he signs in the National Hockey League. Once a receiver of Selke Trophy votes in multiple years, Oshie has seen both his Corsi For % and his On Ice Save % drop over his time with Washington.
It is unknown how severe the current injury sustained by Oshie is, but it was enough to relieve him of his duties for the rest of the evening. Over the next couple of days, the Capitals will give more clarity as to his short- and long-term status.
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