T.J. Oshie is better than Troy Brouwer. Given that they are the only two NHL players to change hands in Thursday's Capitals-Blues trade, its a win for Washington.Acquiring Oshie, along with , means that the Capitals overhauled their top six forwards and really, their top nine. Oshie, like several other Caps forwards, can play center or wing. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Oshie, Williams, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johan son, Andrei Burakovsky those are seven skilled players. Fitting them in
Ondrej Pavelec Jersey with Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich and others should sound pretty good if youre a Caps fan.MORE: | | The Capitals were among the Eastern Conference's best teams last season, and now they've addre sed their biggest i sue in a big way.Oshie, 28, had 19 goals and 36 a sists last season, one season after setting career highs with 21 goals, 39 a sists and 60 points.Given Oshies ability to make plays his 0.96 first a sists/60 minutes at 5-on-5, 34th in the NHL among players with at least 50 games played (via ) hed look good playing with Backstrom and Ovechkin. That could leave
Connor Hellebuyck Jersey Williams, one of the NHL's best play-drivers, on Kuznetsovs right wing.Well see how the match game goes, though. Caps GM Brian MacLellan needed to add right wing-capable players Wilson, youth and entertainment value aside, isnt ready to be Backstrom and Ovechkins most frequent running mate, as was the case last season. Oshie and Williams are both much better suited in that role.Throw in that two other Metropolitan Division rivals and added big-time wingers, and the past 24 hours were probably nece sary for MacLellan. He did well. Pittsburgh, for what its worth, had been in on a potential Oshie deal before acquiring Ke sel on Wednesday. The Caps reportedly had also inquired about Chicagos Patrick Sharp, but Oshie, at a $4.175 million cap hit through 2016-17 to Sharps $5.9 million, was cheaper.Oshie improves Washington at 5-on-5; his overall scoring rate there (2.27 points/60) was also 34th in the league and wouldve been the best on the Caps handily Ovechkin was first at 2.00.(Oshie, its got to be said, is among the NHL's best shootout guys, though thats going to be le s of
Logan Stanley Jersey a factor in the past, given the move to 3-on-3 overtimes.)Theres an element of weve got to do something to the Blues end of the deal. They underachieved in the playoffs for years, and Oshie was a big part of the core. Me sing with a good team for reasons like that doesnt always pay off; look at the Sharks.Still, if it ends here for St. Louis, things should be OK. Brouwer has at least 20 goals in each of the past two seasons, including eightand 12 on the power play. Part of that is a function of playing the leagues best units, but it shouldnt go unnoticed. St. Louis was fourth in the NHL on the power play at 22.3 percent, though, so how much improvement can be made remains to be seen.Brouwer, overall, is best suited physical third-liner, both in his effects on puck po se sion and his teammates production, with plus goal-scoring ability and power-play contributions. Theres value there; its just not what the Caps needed.With Brouwer, the Blues have a more defined top-six/bottom-six structure, something
Tobias Enstrom Jersey GM Doug Armstrong alluded to after the deal. There was duplication with Oshie, David Backes, Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Alex Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko and Joni Lehtera. Now, six of them are left."That size is something you can't teach, Armstrong said; Brouwer is 6-3, 213 pounds, Oshie is 5
Dustin Byfuglien Jersey -11, 189. In the Western Conference "you have to play with size and you have to play with weight."Armstrong shouldnt fetishize physicality for physicalitys sake here, and Brouwers space-creating ability doesnt manifest itself in production for his linemates, but again, as a third-line winger, hes fine. Hes just not Oshie, and thats not a great starting block.The futures St. Louis reeled in are worth noting, too; a third-round pick in 2016 and goalie Pheonix Copley. At 23, Copley would have begun the season as the starter for the Caps' AHL Hershey after having a .925 save percentage in 25 appearances there last season. He gives St. Louis an option moving forward behind Jake Allen. The fact that Copley was used as an a set at all is a compliment to former GM George McPhee and his staff; Copley signed with Washington in 2013 as an undrafted college free agent.
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