Washington Capitals: Top 3 players ready for a breakout season in 2021

#2 T.J. Oshie

T.J. Oshie was protected by the Caps from the Seattle Kraken for this ultimate reason: Oshie is the heart and soul of the Caps and losing him would have been a big blow to the locker room. Last season Oshie scored 22 goals and added 21 assists for 43 points, showing like the great eight that there were no signs of him aging. He has also defied Father Time.

Oshie recently took his youngest kid, his son Campbell on the ice for the first time at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. As you can probably tell from both his and his wife’s Instagram, T.J. is a family guy. It is a good thing he is sticking around raising his kids in the D.C. area.

Oshie will have to compete ultimately with age as he will turn 35 before Christmas. It will be up to him and the other veterans to avoid a drop off. Eventually age catches up to us all. It is up to ultimately Oshie himself to defy it.

Oshie has the potential to do just that. Whether he is on the first line, second line or third line, expect another 20 goal season where he could maybe reach 30 in a full 82 game season. If age does catch up, he could maybe at least reach 22 again.