TJ Oshie was almost traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins before he was acquired by the Capitals

TJ Oshie is set to play in his 1,000th career NHL game on Saturday when the Washington Capitals take on the Vancouver Canucks.

In celebration of that milestone, Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir took a fun look back at the move that originally brought Oshie to DC from the St. Louis Blues on July 2, 2015.

In the piece, Oshie reveals that a week or so prior to arriving in Washington, he was told that he was close to being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins, appalling news for any Capitals fan.

“I was told there was a trade in the works with Pittsburgh at the draft, and that it was almost a done deal,” Oshie said. “I don’t know, it just didn’t happen.”

The proposed move would have seen Oshie join up with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the other side of a rivalry that extended into the NHL postseason three seasons in a row from 2016 through 2018. After being unable to come to terms on that deal, Pittsburgh turned to Toronto’s Phil Kessel in a blockbuster trade that saw three players and two draft picks head to the Maple Leafs.

A day later, the Blues approached the Capitals about Oshie and the rest is history. Troy Brouwer, Pheonix Copley, and a 2016 third-round draft pick landed in St. Louis and the Capitals had a stalwart right winger that would help shape their culture for the next decade.

Oshie would add an immediate, offensive jolt to the Capitals’ lineup, recording 51 points (26g, 25a) in 80 games during his first season with the club. His presence was felt even more in the playoffs as he would add 43 points (18g, 25a) in 49 playoff games over his first three years.

Nineteen of those playoff games came against Pittsburgh, with Oshie putting up 15 points (8g, 7a) in those appearances. His very first postseason matchup against the team he almost joined included a hat trick and the overtime game-winner in Game One of the 2015-16 second round.

The 2016 series between the two teams would end in Capitals heartbreak at the hands of the Penguins and so would the next year, allowing Pittsburgh to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Oshie helped exorcize those demons in 2018 en route to the Capitals’ first-ever Stanley Cup and in a pivotal series against the back-to-back Cup champs, the crafty forward had four points (2g, 2a) in six games. He also skated over 21 minutes in five of the six contests.

One of the biggest moments of that series came when Oshie clobbered Penguins defenseman Kris Letang in a fight at the end of Game Four. The Capitals would win both of the next two games to eliminate Pittsburgh in a playoff series for the first time since 1994.

Oshie would go on to add seven points (2g, 5a) in seven games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final and six points (1g, 5a) in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights. And the rest is history.