T.J. Oshie

Capitals re-sign T.J. Oshie to eight-year, $46 million contract

Published Jun. 23, 2017 6:18 p.m. ET

Pete Blackburn

T.J. Oshie was expected to be one of the most sought-after free agents this NHL offseason, but it turns out he won't be hitting the open market at all.

Oshie agreed to re-sign with the Capitals, the team announced Friday. He'll stay in Washington with a new deal worth $46 million over eight years ($5.75 million AAV).

“T.J. is an invaluable member of our team and we felt it was imperative for us to re-sign him in a competitive free agent market,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “T.J. is a highly competitive player with a tremendous skill set; he epitomizes the kind of player our team must have in order for us to continue to put ourselves in a position to compete in this League.”

That's quite a lot of term for Oshie, who will turn 31 in December. While the annual average value is pretty good — likely lower than what Oshie would have fetched in free agency — and Capitals get to keep a key piece as they look to remain competitive in the immediate future, the deal has potential to look regrettable as Oshie gets older.

Oshie is coming off a great season in which he scored 33 goals and had 56 points in 68 games for the Capitals. He was in a favorable spot playing alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom and shot 23-percent. It was the first 30-goal season of his career. But it's fair to question how sustainable that type of production is.

https://twitter.com/DimFilipovic/status/878364927370567680

The Capitals have won the Presidents Trophy the two seasons that Oshie has been in Washington and there's no denying that he's been a big part of that success. Re-signing him keeps them in a solid position to keep driving towards a Cup, but this deal could handcuff them longterm.

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T.J. Oshie

Washington Capitals

National Hockey League