A rather unexpected piece of information broke on social media today, as it was learned that Washington Capitals right winger T.J. Oshie would like to try out a new position for the upcoming campaign.
Oshie, who has played as a forward since joining the National Hockey League in 2008 with the St. Louis Blues, is hoping to get some playing time at the blue line this season. This interest in the defenseman position is not new, as Oshie has been asking the Capitals to give him a chance at the position for several years.
While such positional changes are becoming increasingly rare these days, this is certainly not the first time we've seen a situation like this. Brent Burns and Dustin Byfuglien are the first recent examples that come to mind, both of whom have played as defensemen AND forwards in recent years.
Used mostly as a defenseman during his career, Burns had played the 2013-2014 season on the right wing, which resulted in no less than 48 points, including 22 goals, in 69 regular season games. Byfuglien, who is also known as a defenseman, has also been used offensively at various times in his career, having scored 11 goals in 22 games during the 2010 playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks, playing on the wing.
Oshie, on the other hand, has recorded 610 points, including 260 goals, in 13 NHL seasons as a forward. His repositioning to defense would deprive Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette of an important piece of his offense, not to mention that his team is already well stocked on the right side of the blue line with John Carlson, Justin Schultz, Nick Jensen and Trevor Van Riemsdyk all established NHL veterans.
So it will be interesting to see if Laviolette will agree to his colt's request, or if he will prioritize his team's needs, but I have to admit that it would be very intriguing to follow T.J. Oshie at the blue line.
