Will TJ Oshie play hockey again? Will Nick Backstrom return in the fall? Lavy still has love for the Caps

TJ Oshie's future in the NHL remains uncertain as he continues to battle chronic back issues that have plagued him in recent seasons. Oshie acknowledged that it would be difficult to definitively say he is retiring, expressing a desire to continue playing if he could get some assurance that his back problems can be resolved. The lingering pain has been his biggest obstacle to playing at 100%, making it a challenge just to get his body ready for games. Things reached a breaking point this past season when, after only playing 8 games, Oshie suffered a hard hit from Artemi Panarin in the playoffs that required him to urgently fly his doctor in to get ready for Game 3. Adding insult to injury, he then took a dangerous hit into the boards from Matt Rempe that broke his left hand. As excruciating as that was, Oshie insisted that a broken hand was like a mere hangnail compared to the constant agony from his back problems. He has tried solutions like a double ablation procedure but it provided only temporary relief, as there are multiple issues plaguing his back. The pain has deteriorated his quality of life, leaving him sometimes unable to even get off the floor to go to the bathroom and requiring him to resort to using water bottles. For Oshie, playing through pain is nothing new after over a decade in the NHL. But he longs for the simpler days when all it took was some coffee and a hot tub to get ready for a game, not the exhaustive treatments he now needs just to make it onto the ice. While Oshie remains unsure if he will officially retire, his fate rests largely on whether doctors can find a way to resolve his back troubles. If he can get healthy again, his passion for hockey still burns strongly enough that he would love to return for another season. Dan then talks about the future of Nick Backstrom on the Capitals and former Caps coach Peter Laviolette's kind words about the team

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