He's gonna be able to buy a lot of the booger sugar now... Seriously...congrats to TJ...such a great player.

https://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.c ... -but-done/

Curious to the terms but it's likely the best spot for him.

Seems like he has found a good spot...he isn't the man...and can skate around Oshing things while #8 scores.

CaptSMRT wrote:Seems like he has found a good spot...he isn't the man...and can skate around Oshing things while #8 scores.

Seems like Ovi might try to do some "Oshing" then considering Oshie scored as many goals as he did this year. Ovi also got demoted to the 3rd line in the playoffs so I'd say some "Oshing" next year might be in his best interest!

NHLTIM wrote:

CaptSMRT wrote:Seems like he has found a good spot...he isn't the man...and can skate around Oshing things while #8 scores.

Seems like Ovi might try to do some "Oshing" then considering Oshie scored as many goals as he did this year. Ovi also got demoted to the 3rd line in the playoffs so I'd say some "Oshing" next year might be in his best interest!

Too bad he didn't have any 30 goal seasons with the Blues...they might not have given up on him.

CaptSMRT wrote:

NHLTIM wrote:

CaptSMRT wrote:Seems like he has found a good spot...he isn't the man...and can skate around Oshing things while #8 scores.

Seems like Ovi might try to do some "Oshing" then considering Oshie scored as many goals as he did this year. Ovi also got demoted to the 3rd line in the playoffs so I'd say some "Oshing" next year might be in his best interest!

Too bad he didn't have any 30 goal seasons with the Blues...they might not have given up on him.

Huge mistake by Army...worst move he's made by far.

NHLTIM wrote:

CaptSMRT wrote:

NHLTIM wrote:
Seems like Ovi might try to do some "Oshing" then considering Oshie scored as many goals as he did this year. Ovi also got demoted to the 3rd line in the playoffs so I'd say some "Oshing" next year might be in his best interest!

Too bad he didn't have any 30 goal seasons with the Blues...they might not have given up on him.

Huge mistake by Army...worst move he's made by far.

Probably more to the story than your friendly neighborhood hockey fan might know.

CaptSMRT wrote:

NHLTIM wrote:

CaptSMRT wrote:
Too bad he didn't have any 30 goal seasons with the Blues...they might not have given up on him.

Huge mistake by Army...worst move he's made by far.

Probably more to the story than your friendly neighborhood hockey fan might know.

Nah...just a boneheaded decision by Army, showing loyalty to his friend Hitch that he ended up firing anyway. That's the only reason Oshie was moved.

Are you guys high? Or being sarcastic?

Oshie scoring 30+ was because he was on a line with blackstorm and ovy.

Just like perron when he played with crosby and kuntitz (i don't remember 3rd teammate)

Point being, even with donut eater gone, oshie would not score 30+ on the blues

Ozzies09tc wrote:Are you guys high? Or being sarcastic?

Oshie scoring 30+ was because he was on a line with blackstorm and ovy.

Just like perron when he played with crosby and kuntitz (i don't remember 3rd teammate)

Point being, even with donut eater gone, oshie would not score 30+ on the blues

I think the point is that Osh is just as important to Ovi and Backstrom as they are to him. How many guys have played on that line with them the last several years before Oshie arrived...10? Oshie came in and stabilized that position for them. He's a huge part of that team and he stepped up big time in the playoffs when Ovi didn't.
Oshie is a helluva player in all aspects of the game. For whatever reason, that's gets lost on a lot of people for whatever reason.

Let's see what kind of season Oshie has with a signed long term contract under his belt.
My own opinion (Worth less than 1 penny)
is that like Hull, it took being cast out from being the Poster Boy, and having to start out new elsewhere, to jolt him into becoming the player he could have been all along.

Closer to 4 as opposed to 10 and they got alex semin to score 30-40+ also

Is oshie good? Yes.

Is he great? No.

Ozzies09tc wrote:Closer to 4 as opposed to 10 and they got alex semin to score 30-40+ also

Is oshie good? Yes.

Is he great? No.

There was more than 4...they've tried numerous guys in that spot. I just read an article during the playoffs about why he's been so valuable for them.

I'm going to agree with Ozzie here. Oshie is a product of his environment. However, like Tim said, he's filled a void on the top line and fits their team very well.
I just don't see any way Oshie puts those numbers up here. Oshie and Backstrom allow him to have a little more time and space. He wouldn't have that on this team.
Oshie may have grown up but I'm still ok with him being dealt. It was time to break up the boy band. The return should've been better but I feel we say that a lot these days with Armies trades.

I never said it was a good deal.

CaptSMRT wrote:I never said it was a good deal.

If Brouwer would have stayed, it would have been a very good deal.

I can't remember where I saw the picture of Ovi's thigh but it was the biggest bruise I've ever seen shy of broken ribs, that's probably the reason he playing third line minutes. I think his wife posted a pic on Twitter.

I think Oshie is like an elite 2nd liner to below average 1st liner. He definitely seems like a good fit on the Caps top line from the games I've seen.

I'm kinda torn on the Oshie trade because I remember the offseason Oshie was traded, I was ok with it because despite being a good player he was just a complete non-factor in the playoffs since he's been with the Blues. Having said that Brouwer and Copley seemed like a super underwhelming trade value for a player like Oshie. But then Brouwer had a monster playoff performance for us so I was good with the trade.

I'm glad Oshie is having success with the Caps b/c he seems like a cool dude but I'm glad him and Brouwer are both gone so we will have money to sign Fabbs and Parayko and whoever else we need to sign.

If we had Oshie instead of Brouwer last season, I don't think we'd have made it to the Conference finals. Brouwer just fit in perfectly with what we needed, physically on the ice, making room for Stastny and Fabbri to work, and with his cup-winning experience in the locker room.

Sad though it may seem, I also think not trying to exceed Calgary's offer for him last Summer was also the right move.

And just remember, the Capitals haven't even been as far in the playoffs as we have in the past two seasons. They lost in the 2nd round both years, and we made it to the 3rd round last year, and 2nd round this season.

shpongle falls wrote:I'm kinda torn on the Oshie trade because I remember the offseason Oshie was traded, I was ok with it because despite being a good player he was just a complete non-factor in the playoffs since he's been with the Blues. Having said that Brouwer and Copley seemed like a super underwhelming trade value for a player like Oshie. But then Brouwer had a monster playoff performance for us so I was good with the trade.

emphasis mine, but yes. this. all of this. and he was way too far in his own head here. despite the meager return, this was what you call a good ol' hockey trade - both players needed a change, and both players/teams were better for it.

to say this:

NHLTIM wrote:Huge mistake by Army...worst move he's made by far.

is pretty ridiculous. really? this is the worst move he's made? hitchcock extension/double coaches, lehtera, ryan miller... the list goes on. seems to me everyone was talking about the culture in the locker room, and that our "core guys" were a) not getting it done in the playoffs, b) had tuned out the coach, and c) were a negative influence in the room based on their entitlement. we needed to shake that up, and trading someone that had been marketed as the face of the blues was certainly a way to do that. my preference would have been to start with backes, but oshie was #2 on my list. would have moved them all if possible. yes, every return we got for the trade is gone, but as shpongle said, we now have money to sign other key players, so we are still a better team for this trade.

T.C. wrote: is pretty ridiculous. really? this is the worst move he's made? hitchcock extension/double coaches, lehtera, ryan miller... the list goes on. seems to me everyone was talking about the culture in the locker room, and that our "core guys" were a) not getting it done in the playoffs, b) had tuned out the coach, and c) were a negative influence in the room based on their entitlement. we needed to shake that up, and trading someone that had been marketed as the face of the blues was certainly a way to do that. my preference would have been to start with backes, but oshie was #2 on my list. would have moved them all if possible. yes, every return we got for the trade is gone, but as shpongle said, we now have money to sign other key players, so we are still a better team for this trade.

I'm talking strictly player moves and Oshie is far and away the worst move he made. The Miller trade was absolutely the right move to make at the time. He made that move because the team had zero confidence in Jaro Halak. He was trying to make a trade that puts his team over the top...that's the kind of move a GM is supposed to make.

NHLTIM wrote:

T.C. wrote: is pretty ridiculous. really? this is the worst move he's made? hitchcock extension/double coaches, lehtera, ryan miller... the list goes on. seems to me everyone was talking about the culture in the locker room, and that our "core guys" were a) not getting it done in the playoffs, b) had tuned out the coach, and c) were a negative influence in the room based on their entitlement. we needed to shake that up, and trading someone that had been marketed as the face of the blues was certainly a way to do that. my preference would have been to start with backes, but oshie was #2 on my list. would have moved them all if possible. yes, every return we got for the trade is gone, but as shpongle said, we now have money to sign other key players, so we are still a better team for this trade.

I'm talking strictly player moves and Oshie is far and away the worst move he made. The Miller trade was absolutely the right move to make at the time. He made that move because the team had zero confidence in Jaro Halak. He was trying to make a trade that puts his team over the top...that's the kind of move a GM is supposed to make.

IYRC, I was totally against getting Miller for many reasons, and while I jumped on board as a good fan/soldier afterwards, I never did have faith in Miller. He had little playoff experience and/or success in recent years prior to the trade; all rumors indicated it'd be a playoff run and no re-sign as he wanted a west coast gig for his wife; he was used to playing on teams with offensive first mentality and facing 25+ shots per night, totally unlike Hitch's Blues defensive first teams; how well would he fit in with communicating with a new group of D men, etc.

I understand the lack of faith in Halak, and obviously in Elliott at the time, but 20/20 says that was the worst trade in DA's tenure by far, for the cost and return. It was just a bad reactionary move not well thought out IMHO/

bradleygt89 wrote:

NHLTIM wrote:

T.C. wrote: is pretty ridiculous. really? this is the worst move he's made? hitchcock extension/double coaches, lehtera, ryan miller... the list goes on. seems to me everyone was talking about the culture in the locker room, and that our "core guys" were a) not getting it done in the playoffs, b) had tuned out the coach, and c) were a negative influence in the room based on their entitlement. we needed to shake that up, and trading someone that had been marketed as the face of the blues was certainly a way to do that. my preference would have been to start with backes, but oshie was #2 on my list. would have moved them all if possible. yes, every return we got for the trade is gone, but as shpongle said, we now have money to sign other key players, so we are still a better team for this trade.

I'm talking strictly player moves and Oshie is far and away the worst move he made. The Miller trade was absolutely the right move to make at the time. He made that move because the team had zero confidence in Jaro Halak. He was trying to make a trade that puts his team over the top...that's the kind of move a GM is supposed to make.

IYRC, I was totally against getting Miller for many reasons, and while I jumped on board as a good fan/soldier afterwards, I never did have faith in Miller. He had little playoff experience and/or success in recent years prior to the trade; all rumors indicated it'd be a playoff run and no re-sign as he wanted a west coast gig for his wife; he was used to playing on teams with offensive first mentality and facing 25+ shots per night, totally unlike Hitch's Blues defensive first teams; how well would he fit in with communicating with a new group of D men, etc.

I understand the lack of faith in Halak, and obviously in Elliott at the time, but 20/20 says that was the worst trade in DA's tenure by far, for the cost and return. It was just a bad reactionary move not well thought out IMHO/

That trade didn't cost us anything other than a 1st round pick...the rest we threw in was all garbage. it was the right move at the right team and that was exactly the kind of deal a GM should make.
The Sabres actually traded both those picks we threw in if i remember correctly.

That trade also required us to watch Steve Ott for a few seasons in the Blues uniform soooo

I both love Oshie as a player and understand why the trade had to happen. Oshie was clearly the best player by a mile in that trade, but the room did need a shake-up at the time. I think Oshie's contract situation and the Blues depth up front made him more expendable than some of the other options. I could be wrong, but I feel like at the time of the trade, most fans were happy that Armstrong shook things up. Remember we were just coming off that brutal playoff lost to the Wild, and fans were pissed. To that point Oshie was one of the many playoff under-producers on the roster, and the fanbase was calling for a pound of flesh. After he was sent packing I think a lot of fans turned on him, which was a bit silly to me, but somebody had to be the face of all that playoff failure.

One person that doesn't regret that trade one bit is Brian MacLellan. First line wingers that can take draws and fit on the first PP and PK units are pretty hard to find.