One of Minnesota's best ever, T.J. Oshie bids emotional farewell to the NHL
Everyone knew it was going to happen after a back injury prevented him from playing this season, but that didn't make T.J. Oshie's retirement ceremony on Monday any less impactful.
Oshie, the 38-year-old who started making a hockey name for himself in Warroad, choked back tears during an emotional speech held at Washington Harbour on the Georgetown waterfront in Washington, D.C.
Oshie was a warrior until the very end, and nearly from the very start. He grew up in Mount Vernon, Washington and got his start in the Seattle Junior Hockey Association before his parents divorced and he moved to Minnesota with his dad in 2002.
He became an instant star in three years at Warroad High School, leading the Warriors to Class A state championships in 2003 and 2005 (they also made it to the tourney in 2004). He had 43 goals and 42 assists as a junior and led the state in scoring with 38 goals and 62 assists as a senior.
"To the city of Warroad, or Hockeytown USA as we call it, thank you for welcoming me into your tight-knight community. You sparked my love for the game of hockey and I can't think of a better place for me to grow up," Oshie said. "Winning two state championships together felt like it couldn't get any better. Thank you for taking me in."
He wasn't born in the State of Hockey, but he's certainly one of the best to ever make it to the NHL after playing high school hockey in Minnesota.
In 1,010 career games, Oshie scored 302 goals and had 393 assists (695 points). He was named an All-Star in 2020 and he hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018.
From a statistical view, the greatest scorers to have traveled the Minnesota-to-the-NHL pipeline are Phil Housley, Blake Wheeler, Neal Broten, Zach Parise, Dave Christian and Matt Cullen, but those are the only names that scored more points than Oshie.
Phil Housley: 1,232 points (338 goals, 894 assists)
Blake Wheeler: 943 points (321 goals, 622 assists)
Neal Broten: 923 points (289 goals, 634 assists)
Zach Parise: 923 points (434 goals, 455 assists)
Dave Christian: 773 points (340 goals, 433 assists)
Matt Cullen: 731 points (266 goals, 465 assists)
T.J. Oshie: 695 points (302 goals, 393 assists)
Reed Larson: 685 points (222 goals, 463 assists)
Jamie Langenbrunner: 663 points (243 goals, 420 assists)
Kyle Okposo: 614 points (242 goals, 372 assists)
Defining Oshie's greatness in comparison to other Minnesota high school legends who turned in great NHL careers is a futile task. For example, you won't find Mike Ramsey or Erik Johnson's names among the scoring leaders before they were elite defensemen.
How can one weigh Ramsey's 1980 "Miracle on Ice" involvement and more than 1,000 career games in the NHL? The scorers get the glory, but Ramsey is no doubt one of the best to ever come out of Minnesota.
Parise has more goals and points but Oshie won a Cup and helped make Alexander Ovechkin the NHL's all-time leader in goals. Oshie also delivered iconic shootout goals in the gold medal game against Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
There's too much subjectivity to make a true top 10. But no matter how you slice it, Oshie is one of the greatest to ever wear an NHL sweater after starring in Minnesota high school rinks.
"The moment my skates touched the ice, I gave you everything I had," Oshie siad.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
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