T.J. Oshie: 'For Me Personally, I Didn't Want Out. I Wanted To Retire A Blue'

For the first time since he was actually traded by the St. Louis Blues, former NHLer T.J. Oshie admitted he never wanted to leave.

Oshie, speaking on the Wingmen podcast with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, talked about a variety of things since he played with the brothers' dad, Keith Tkachuk, here in St. Louis.

Among the subjects was his trade after the 2014-15 season by the Blues to the Washington Capitals for Troy Brouwer, goalie Pheonix Copley and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft:

“I was upset until my retirement speech … I wanted to retire a Blue.”

T.J. Oshie didn’t take his trade from St. Louis to Washington lightly 😥 pic.twitter.com/b84o8FqS1z

— Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk (@Wingmenpod) February 2, 2026

"That trade, you're just like, for me personally, I didn't want out," Oshie said speaking from St. Louis before calling a game on ESPN+ and Hulu last week. "I wanted to retire a Blue. You guys know what the alumni association's here, the alumni presence. I wanted to be a part of that. So I just felt defeated almost when the trade happened."

The Blues would go on to reach the Western Conference Final that next season in 2016 before losing in six games to the San Jose Sharks, and Oshie, who played 1,010 regular-season games with 695 points (303 goals, 392 assists), would go on to play the next -- and final -- nine seasons of his career with the Capitals, winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.

The Blues were a super good team in 2015 entering the playoffs. They won the Central Division and finished with 109 points (51-24-7) but lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the Minnesota Wild. They had great teams in that era but could never seem to get over the hump.

General manager Doug Armstrong was not going to sit idly once again and made this bold move, one in which surprised many, including Oshie, a 2005 first-round pick.

"I was honestly upset until probably my retirement speech honestly," Oshie said. "That's how long I was mad about this trade. I think just because I personally felt like I gave the team everything I could give them on the ice. On the ice, I did everything I thought I possibly could. I thought I played exactly like the coaches wanted me to at all times. 

"When you're not winning, when you're not getting over that hump, it's always like, 'What is it? Why can't we do this?' And when you're the guy that gets traded, you're like, 'Holy ... like they think I was the problem?' That's why we didn't win, and you're like, 'Shoot.' You have whatever feelings you have about that. I was pretty upset about it."

Watch the full episode here, which Oshie also talks about the shootout attempts at the Winter Olympics against Russia, mentors he had here in St. Louis and his relationship with North Dakota teammate Jonathan Toews and others in school; he starts talking in full about being traded from the Blues around the 20-minute mark: