The Washington Capitals continue to make big moves at the beginning of this off-season as today they pulled off a trade with the St. Louis Blues, sending forward Troy Brouwer, goaltender Pheonix Copley, and a third-round draft pick for forward T.J. Oshie.
Oshie is a victim of his team's salary cap, as the Blues need to re-sign budding superstar Vladimir Tarasenko. With a cap-hit of $4.175M, Oshie is a great addition to Caps both financially and for his skill set.
"T.J. is an outstanding skater with a tremendous skill set," Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said in a statement. "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." (NHL.com)
Oshie was a star for Team USA in the Winter Olympics, making him a household name with almost every youth hockey program in the nation. He joins fellow Team USA teammates Brooks Orpik and John Carlson.
Last season, Oshie scored 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points.
Troy Brouwer made Washington a home for 4 seasons after winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 with Chicago. He was a great character player for the Caps and off the ice was a big fan-favorite. He scored 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in all 82 games last season. All the best to Brouwer in St. Louis.
With Copley, the Blues get a great prospect in net. He went 17-4-3 with a 2.17 GAA and a .925 SP in 26 games with the Hershey Bears last season.
Next for the Caps is to re-sign RFA's Braden Holtby, Evgeny Kutznetsov, and Marcus Johansson.
GMBM also signed forward Justin Williams.
More to come...