Oshie is going on the long-term injured reserve for the 2024-25 season.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For the Washington Capitals, there's just no replacing T.J. Oshie. That much is obvious.
So as the team took the ice for training camp without Oshie for the first time in nine years, his void was obvious, as MedStar Capitals Iceplex didn't echo with his shouts of enthusiasm that'd become so prominent in the District over the years.
"He brought a lot -- a lot of intangibles that you guys kind of see every now and then in his personality. But it's a little quieter, so we're going to have to step up and fill that energy void," Nic Dowd noted.
Oshie will be on the long-term injured reserve during the 2024-25 season as he continues to search for a solution to his chronic back issues that have limited him over the last handful of seasons.
"A broken hand is like a hangnail compared to what I go through with my back... (When) I can't play, I'm usually literally on the floor, peeing in water bottles," Oshie said of his pain.
Over nine years in the District, Oshie registered 192 goals and 193 assists for 385 points in 567 games, while also helping lead D.C. to the Stanley Cup in 2018 while hitting the 1,000-game and 300-goal milestones.
Numbers aside, his off-ice impact has made the news even more difficult for D.C. to take in.
"Probably one of the best guys I have in the locker room, on the ice and off the ice," captain Alex Ovechkin said of Oshie.
"I don't need to tell you guys what he means to me and what he means to the group... I'll tell you right now, if it was up to Osh, injury or not, he'd be skating out there on one leg or whatever," Tom Wilson added, refusing to count him out for a potential return down the road. "He just loves the game of hockey. He's a true warrior."
When it comes to filling the 37-year-old's skates, the Capitals know that it'll take more than just one player to step up in that department both on and off the ice.
"I mean, I don't think you can replace a guy like T.J. Oshie. I think it's going to take multiple guys in the locker room, just on a positive level and you know, a friendly level," Strome said, adding, "I think it's gonna take a couple guys to kind of fill that role that he played and some other guys to step up and be a little bit bigger voices in the room."
At the end of the day, it will be another challenge for the new-look Capitals as they enter a new reality without Oshie. However, they are confident that they can come together to keep his legacy going in any way they can.
"It's understood (we have to step up). T.J.'s such a good human being away from the game of hockey. If you take hockey out of it, he's just such a great person and he's so good to be around," Dowd said. "I'm not going to say we're ever going to be able to fill that void of not having Osh around at times, but I think it's just going to be different. Teams have to change and pivot, and Osh needs to do what he needs to do to feel better.
"I miss the guy, a lot of us miss having him around. It'll certainly be a change, but change is good. It can be a positive thing, right? And it can bring some new things to life that maybe we didn't even know we had."
READ MORE ON THE HOCKEY NEWS
- Capitals monitoring Alex Ovechkin to open camp as he deals with minor injury
- Capitals skate test results, first-look line combinations & notes from Day 1 of training camp
- Capitals bringing back Screamin' Eagle as third jersey for upcoming season
- Andrew Cristall has sights set on making Capitals opening night roster after strong summer
- Expect big year for Rasmus Sandin amid upgrades on Capitals blue line
- Charlie Lindgren goes all out with new Capitals mask for 2024-25 season