Capitals' T.J. Oshie Opens Up About Back Issues That Leave Him 'Literally On The Floor,' Wild Prep To Keep Playing & His NHL Future

ARLINGTON, V.A. — After being swept at the hands of the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie lingered on the ice, taking in the crowd and saluting them as he came face-to-face to a harsh reality: this could be it.

Oshie has been struggling with chronic back issues for years amid other ailments, and he said there is still a lot to consider with regard to his future going forward.

"In my mind, it would be hard for me to ever for sure say that I'm stepping away from the game. I'd love to play next year, but I will need to come back with somewhat of a guarantee that my back won't be (going out)," Oshie said. "It's hard putting everyone through the situation. From my family at home to the team trying to figure out a lineup to young guys getting called up and going down. I'd like to find just an answer and a fix to the problem before I make another run at it."

Preparing for a hockey game is unlike anything else for Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. It goes beyond just putting gear on; it's meeting with doctors and medical staff and taking numerous steps to get himself on the ice because of his back.

The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs were no different.

After taking a big hit from Artemi Panarin in Game 2 against the New York Rangers, Oshie's doctor back in Minnesota, Kerry Johnson, took an emergency flight to get Oshie ready to go for Games 3 and 4. Then, on top of everything else, and with his back still hurting, Oshie was crunched along the boards by no other than Matt Rempe, breaking his left hand.

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Still, his hand being squished by the 6-foot-7 Rangers rookie was nothing compared to what he goes through on a constant basis with his back.

"It's different than just being sore. A broken hand is like a hangnail compared to what I go through with my back," Oshie admitted.

The 37-year-old has been in and out of the lineup for years because of his chronic back pain. At the end of last season and on a handful of other occasions, he underwent a double ablation, which uses heat to destroy tissue and burn nerves to relieve the pain.

It was nothing more than a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

"My issue is there's not just one problem back there. There's multiple things that we've got to find an answer for," Oshie said.

Over the course of the year, the Minnesota native's back gave out time and time again. It would leave him in serious pain and discomfort, and not only kept him out of the lineup but took a toll on his daily life, leaving him unable to even get up to use the bathroom.

"If I'm in a state where I can't play, I'm usually literally on the floor, peeing in water bottles. It sucks when that happens, and I can't pick up kids or do any of that until I go see Dr. Johnson out of Minnesota and he gets me all aligned, then I seem to feel a lot better," Oshie said.

So, to get on the ice, it's more than just putting on the gear and jersey. Prep starts hours before that, from Dr. Johnson flying into town to impromptu trips to Minnesota.

"There's been a lot of just extra things that I have to do to make sure that my back is ready to play an NHL game. I miss the days where I'd come in and have a coffee and sit on the training room table, maybe the hot tub and throw the stuff on and go play. But I did enjoy it while it lasted," Oshie lamented. "It just takes a little bit more."

For Oshie, his health is an elephant in the room. Washington is heading in a younger direction, and Oshie's status is one of the biggest question marks going into what's sure to be a busy offseason.

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Still, his teammates want to see him back, stresing just how vital he is to the team's success.

Every day with him is an absolute pleasure and privilege, I've learned so much from him," Tom Wilson said. That's one of those guys that towards the end of the year, I'm like 'I'm going to leave it all out there because I don't want to stop playing with you.' You don't want your last game day with Osh to ever happen. It's one of those things where if he's good to go, I'm going to be the happiest guy on the planet. He's a guy we love having around. I hope his health gets back, but like he said, it's been a tough go for him. It's a testament to his character and durability and how much he's done for this team. It's pretty selfless to leave your body on the line every minute of every game just to win games. It's pretty selfless, an amazing thing you don't find very often."

"It's impressive, honestly. No one outside our locker room knows essentially what he has to do every day to make sure his body's in shape to go compete. You look at T.J.'s game: He's not someone that just hops on the ice come game time and just tiptoes around and avoids checks. That's not his style. He's a guy that he's just a true, old-fashioned hockey player the way he plays," Charlie Lindgren noted. "I can't say enough unbelievable things about him as a teammate and as a hockey player and just the way he goes about his business, first class all around. And just so thankful for the opportunity to be able to play with him for a couple years. Love to obviously have him back, too, hopefully. I guess we'll see what happens. Certainly he's probably going to have a decision to make, but we're a better hockey team with T.J. Oshie in our locker room and on the ice with him. Hopefully he'll be back."

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Going into the summer, Oshie said he has a lot to consider and plenty of decisions to make. But for now, there's not necessarily a concrete plan, and though he'd love to return, he knows that health will be a hurdle.

"I love the game, and I still love coming to the rink every day. Obviously there's some health things that I've got to follow up with (trainer Jason Serbus) and the doctors and go over some options," Oshie said. "But I love the game. I still love coming here, so I'd still love to play next season, but I need to find a way to maybe eliminate me going in and out of the lineup because of the same issue every time. We'll just be looking for answers for now.

"Yeah, definitely. I think any time you get towards... I'm 37 years old, so you just never know. Especially the age that my kids are at, you want them to be around kind of a just-in-case thing. My wife, she obviously wants to be there, too, to kind of celebrate and savor those moments. It's just like anything," he adeed. "When you're young, you think you're going to play forever and it's going to be amazing and when you get older, you just never know."