Capitals Notes: Oshie, Backstrom, Extensions, Bear
Veteran forward T.J. Oshie told the media on Tuesday that he’ll need reassurance that injuries won’t be an issue before he decides on if he’ll play next season, shares Monumental Sports’ Tarik El-Bashir in a video of the press scrum (Twitter link). Oshie has one season remaining on the eight-year contract he signed with the Capitals in 2017. He was limited to just 56 games this season, bearing with a nagging back issue that ended his season a few weeks early last year. Oshie also shared that he broke his left hand on a hit from New York Ranger Matt Rempe in Game 3 and played through the injury in Game 4.
Back injuries late in a career always deserve extra care, as most veterans can attest to. So it makes sense that the 37-year-old Oshie could hesitate to push himself much more. He’s done it all throughout his 16-year NHL career, winning the 2018 Stanley Cup and representing America at one Olympic Games and three World Championships or World Cups. He polished off his résumé by reaching the 1,000-game mark this season, a feat he was eager to achieve. Oshie seems open to working his way back to full health, though Caps fans will have to hope he’s able to overcome his long battle with his back injury.
Other notes out of D.C.:
- Oshie’s fellow assistant captain Nicklas Backstrom is also facing injury questions next season, with general manager Brian MacLellan saying he expects Backstrom to remain on LTIR, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). Backstrom attempted to come back from back from hip resurfacing surgery this past season, but only managed eight games before his hip issues flared back up. The hip injury has forced Backstrom out of 152 games over the last three seasons, including ending his 2022-23 season in January. The Capitals will continue to receive $9.2MM in LTIR relief with Backstrom remaining sidelined.
- MacLellan also shared that the team has engaged forwards Beck Malenstyn and Connor McMichael in extension conversations, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Both McMichael and Malenstyn carved out daily roles this season, playing in 80 and 81 games and scoring 33 and 21 points respectively. While they rotated around the lineup, especially in response to Washington’s injury bug, both players found a home on the team’s third line. They’re each set to become restricted free agents on July 1st, coming off deals that paid them just above the league minimum. They’re not likely to cost too much more on new deals, though the Capitals will still have to be careful with the money they hand out, with just $6.685MM in projected cap space this summer.
- Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear has exited the NHLPA Player’s Assistance Program, per Silber (Twitter link). Bear entered the program in late March, missing out on Washington’s last 11 regular-season games. After recovering from shoulder surgery, Bear signed a two-year contract with Washington in late December. He’ll look to vindicate that deal and its $2.0625MM price tag with a strong return next season.
Washington Capitals Loan Joe Snively To AHL Affiliate
The Washington Capitals announced today that they are returning forward Joe Snively to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Hershey Bears. It was the second move of the day by Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan after the team placed Lucas Johansen on waivers earlier today.
The 27-year-old Snively dressed in three games during his recent recall and didn’t register a point during that time. It was the third season in a row that Snively has received an NHL recall as he has played in 27 NHL games over the past two and a half seasons. To this point in his NHL career the native of Herndon, Virginia has six goals and five assists.
This most recent recall didn’t go particularly well for Snively as he struggled to drive play and found himself sheltered by the coaching staff as he received the bulk of his shift starts in the offensive zone. He played just 5:43 in Washington’s 2-1 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes last night.
In the AHL Snively has been a strong offensive contributor having registered 134 points in 176 career AHL games. This season with the Bears, the undersized forward has posted seven goals and 14 assists in 25 games.
Snively might not have had a particularly good showing during this recall, but he will likely remain one of the Capitals’ better options should they need to recall a forward later in the season.
Washington Capitals Announce Front Office Restructuring
The Washington Capitals have unveiled a reshuffle in their leadership hierarchy ahead of the 2023-24 season, with general manager Brian MacLellan adding president of hockey operations to his job title. They’ve also promoted Chris Patrick to associate general manager and appointed Dick Patrick as chairman.
MacLellan’s affiliation with the Capitals now enters its 23rd year, having joined the organization in various capacities since his arrival in 2000. He’s been at his current post of GM since 2014, during which time he’s also served as the team’s senior VP of hockey operations. Since taking over as GM, the team has amassed a record of 409-213-77, boasting a .640 winning percentage that ranks third only behind the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. Washington didn’t have a dedicated president of hockey operations last season, meaning job titles are being shuffled around among the team’s upper management before the upcoming season begins.
His significance to the Capitals cannot be understated, and he’s a lock to receive high honors from the organization whenever he does step away from the game. He built a good portion of the team that won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018, with eight of the 19 players on the ice during the series-clinching Game 5 of the Final against the Vegas Golden Knights signed, traded for, or drafted under his direction.
Chris Patrick is also a longtime fixture in Washington’s front office, now entering his 16th year with the team. He’d previously served as an assistant general manager to MacLellan with a specialty in player personnel, a promotion that came just two years ago. Now he’s been promoted again, and his new role as an associate will take a considerable load off MacLellan as the latter shoulders more wide-ranging responsibilities in his presidential role. Patrick will now oversee the team’s analytics department, player contract negotiations, hockey operations staff, player personnel, budget, and team scheduling issues, per the team. He’ll be tasked with more impactful decisions as the team enters quite a tricky retooling phase, and it seems apparent Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has identified him as a potential candidate to replace MacLellan as general manager when he eventually steps away.
Dick Patrick bears no relation to Chris, but he is the grandson of NHL forefather Lester Patrick. He’s held an active role in the sport for as long as his grandfather, serving as the Capitals’ president for 40 years – he assumed the role in 1982. The 77-year-old will now take on a bigger-picture role, likely passing on some of his former day-to-day responsibilities to MacLellan. Patrick had also served as the COO for Leonsis’ Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. His role will now be solely focused on the Capitals. In Patrick’s 40 seasons as president, the Capitals only missed the playoffs eight times.