Washington Capitals: T.J. Oshie is easily 2021 MVP

T.J. Oshie is the heart and soul of the Washington Capitals and in a season like no other, he was there both on and off the ice 2021. The Caps would be foolish to leave him exposed in the Seattle expansion draft at this point.

In 53 games, missing just three games in the regular season due to an injury late in the year, Oshie had 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points averaging 18:04 minutes of ice time. 13 of Oshie’s 22 goals came on the Capitals third ranked power play which set a career high for the Oshbabe on the man advantage. He was just two goals short overall behind Alex Ovechkin for the team lead.

Oshie also recorded the second highest shooting percentage of his career at 20.8 percent while averaging 2.7 points per 60 minutes, tying the career high he set in 2016-17. Whenever someone big was out of the lineup, Oshie was there to don the A patch or even play center.

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Oshie was okay at best while playing center, winning face offs at a 47.9 percent success rate. Oshie also averaged 1.4 goals per 60 minutes which was the second best of his career. What will the Caps do with their roster come the Seattle expansion draft? Fans have clamored for them to protect Oshie and it’ll be worth it because he’s ours.

Pundits have said he would be a great captain for the Kraken which I get but he belongs here. He’s got a family here, two adorable girls and a son. His wife likes it here. The kids like it here. It would be a shame if they had to move. Oshie re-signed here back in the summer of 2017 for a reason and I strongly believe that re-signing helped them win the Cup the next year.

Oshie also had decent advanced stats. He finished with a Corsi For percentage of 51.63 percent, an Expected Goals For percentage of 52.46 percent and a 50 percent Scoring Chances For percentage (via Natural Stat Trick).

In a radio interview with 106.7 The Fan’s Grant and Danny, Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan said it was highly “unlikely” the team will expose Oshie in the expansion draft:

"“We’re gonna try and resist exposing Osh. I think he’s a big part of what we’ve done and he’s had a good year here. He’s a big part of our locker room. He’s a big part of our on-ice team. He brings energy every day. He brings a compete level. He makes everybody better that’s around him.”"

Oshie was easily the 2021 season MVP for the Capitals and here’s hoping we see him back rocking the red next season.