TJ Oshie plays in Alzner Foundation charity softball game with broken hand

TJ Oshie showed once again how tough hockey players can get.

Oshie traded his skates for a bat and glove for his former teammate of Karl Alzner Come along to the summer charity event on Saturday afternoon. Five weeks after breaking his hand during the Capitals’ playoff run, Oshie was slated to be a limited participant in Saturday’s event. But once he got on the field, his performance was anything but subdued.

Not only did Oshie sign autographs and take photos with fans, he actually joined the game’s batting lineup. And he played catcher. Catch with broken hand.

While he was able to participate, Oshie wore a black wristband while playing and getting ice cream after the game.

If the injury slowed him down, however, it didn’t show in his performance. Oshie doubled down the left field line early, spurred by John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Thanks in part to Oshie’s performance, Team Holtby came out on top with an 18-13 victory.

Oshie broke his hand in the Capitals’ first-round game against the New York Rangers when he took a hit from forward Matt Rempe in Game 3. Even then, the injury didn’t slow him down: He continued to play that night and suited up. for Game 4 just two days later.

While a broken hand hasn’t sidelined Oshie, lingering back issues have left his future with the Capitals in limbo. He has missed 92 games over the past three seasons and told reporters at Breakdown Day that he has not yet decided whether he will play in 2024-25.

“I’d love to play next year but I’ll have to come back with some guarantee that my back won’t be … it’s hard to put everyone through that,” he said afterwards, adding: ” I would love to play next season, but I have to find a way to eliminate myself, maybe going in and out of the lineup because of the same problem every time. We’ll just look for answers for now.”

He later remarked that “A broken hand is like a fingernail compared to what I walk behind.”