WASHINGTON — T.J. Oshie, who scored four shootout goals for the U.S. to beat host Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, announced Monday he is retiring after playing 16 NHL seasons.

Oshie shared his news in front of hundreds of fans gathered at the fountains at Washington Harbour in Georgetown, seven years to the day after one of the most memorable Cup celebrations in hockey history when he and several teammates jumped into the fountains and took a dip.

President of hockey operations Brian MacLellan, general manager Chris Patrick, coach Spencer Carbery and longtime teammates Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson came out to support Oshie as he called it a career.

“My only contribution was that this could be a good day and place to have (the ceremony),” Oshie said, adding, “I can’t thank the Caps enough. Another first-class move by them to have my retirement here, invite all the people out. It really made this day special.”

The announcement had been expected for quite some time, with Oshie’s contract expiring. The 38-year-old did not play this past season because of a nagging back injury that sidelined him off and on, going on long-term injured reserve instead.

Oshie said in the spring of 2024 he would return to the Capitals only if he found a permanent solution or fix for his back issue. His final game was at home on April 28 last year against the New York Rangers, a 4-2 loss in the first round of the playoffs that eliminated Washington in a sweep.

“I was fully prepared that could be my last game. I got the pictures taken of me taking off the skates to prove it,” Oshie said. “I hadn’t thought too much about (the end), honestly, besides that moment. Even before that moment, knowing how tough it was on really the whole team with me, what I was going through, actually saying the words out loud at the podium with my family in front of me and the Caps organization, my teammates, all my close friends, it was emotional.”

Taken 24th in the 2005 draft by the St. Louis Blues, Oshie played 1,116 regular-season and playoff games in the league with the Blues and Capitals since making his debut in 2008. He had 336 goals and 428 assists for 764 points, including 21 points during Washington’s Cup run.

Oshie made an international name for himself at the Olympics, earning the nickname “T.J. Sochi” for going 4-for-6 in shootout attempts against Sergei Bobrovsky during the U.S.-Russia preliminary round game in that tournament.

U.S. Olympic coach Dan Bylsma figured one game would go to a shootout, hence the choice of bringing Oshie. Bylsma kept going back to him over and over.

“T.J. had been on fire that season in the shootout, and with the scouting report on Bobrovsky we felt T.J. would have a great chance against him,” Bylsma told The Associated Press by text message Monday. “Even when he didn’t score, he had beaten Bob with his move, so we kept rolling with him.”

In the NHL, his biggest impact came after he was traded from the Blues to the Capitals in 2015. Oshie took on an immediate leadership role as a key addition to the core of Alex Ovechkin, Backstrom and Carlson, helping the team make the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in the nation’s capital.

“I’ll be the first to give credit to my teammates, because without them, I was nowhere near good enough to do it without a group like that,” Oshie said.

Oshie’s 76 power-play goals in D.C. are the fifth most in franchise history. He scored 49 times in the shootout, tied for third all time since it was implemented in 2005.

“I like to think that when I was playing, that I was playing for my teammates, for my coaches, for my family, for my fans. I rarely thought about my own accolades,” Oshie said. “To be remembered (as a ‘warrior’ type of player) is a huge honor because that was my goal and the way I played the game.”

SEATTLE — Lane Lambert said he feels no pressure to turn the Seattle Kraken into a playoff contender.

But his own expectation is to do exactly that.

Lambert was introduced as the Kraken’s coach on Monday at the team’s practice facility. He was hired on May 29 after spending last season as an associate head coach with Toronto. The Maple Leafs won 52 games and the Atlantic Division title, but were eliminated in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals by Florida, which is currently playing in the Stanley Cup Final.

He will become the third head coach in the history of the Kraken, who are entering their fifth season and have made the playoffs just once in their previous four.

“I have an expectation of myself and of my role and of my abilities,” the 60-year-old Lambert said. “You start on Day 1 and it’s a process, it’s a journey. If you do the right things through that journey and do the right things every day and look to get better every day and stick with the process, the results will take care of themselves.”

Lambert takes over for Dan Bylsma, who was fired on April 21 after one season. Seattle was well outside the playoff picture by the time of the February break for the 4 Nations Face-off and finished 35-41-6 (76 points). That was 20 points below the West’s final wild-card spot and five fewer than the Kraken’s 81 points in 2023-24.

“It became very evident that Lane presented the attributes we were looking for,” general manager Jason Botterill said. “The combination of presence and knowledge to work with veteran players, and would also be dedicated to interact with young players.”

Seattle ranked in the bottom third of the league on the power play (23rd), faceoff winning percentage (24th) and average shots per game (25th). It was 21st on the penalty kill, an area in which Lambert helped the Leafs improve from 23rd to fourth.

“There are priorities in certain areas, but everything has to be addressed,” Lambert said. “You can’t build Rome in a day, and that’s the whole process from Day 1. You start with the process, start demanding, and you start instilling your systems, your structure, your details. But definitely, our special teams have to be better. We’ll be better in our defensive zone. I know we will be. So that would be the start and the focus.”

Lambert has had NHL coaching jobs since 2011. His only head coaching experience came with the New York Islanders, beginning at the start of the 2022-23 season and ending when he was fired in January 2024. In his only full season, the Islanders made the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round.

“You go through an experience like that, you get let go, and you have a lot of time to reflect,” he said. “If you don’t have an ego, you can say, ‘Gee, I’d do this differently or that differently. Or I’d do this or that the same.’ There’s certain little things I’ll look at and look into changing.”

He was an assistant with Nashville from 2011-14, then with Washington from 2014-18, with the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Islanders hired him as associate head coach prior to 2018-19. The teams he has worked for have made the playoffs 10 times.

Lambert inherits a roster that includes veterans Jaden Schwartz (a team-high 26 goals last season), Jared McCann (22 goals and a team-leading 61 points), Eeli Tolvanen (23 goals) and Chandler Stephenson (38 assists). The Kraken also have highly regarded young talent such as 2023 Rookie of the Year Matty Beniers (20 goals, 23 assists) and Shane Wright (19 goals, 25 assists).

“When you look at the team and the balance, we have great talent,” Lambert said. “We have veteran players. The non-negotiables are that we have to play the right way — that’s the formula.”

Forward Hannah Bilka was reunited in Seattle with former Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight in the PWHL’s expansion draft Monday night.

Seattle and fellow league newcomer Vancouver took distinct approaches in continuing to build their respective identities during the seven-round draft.

Seattle general manager Meghan Turner split her picks in selecting three forwards and four defensemen. Meanwhile, Vancouver GM Cara Gardner Morey chose five forwards and two defensemen, starting with the opening selection of Ottawa blueliner Ashton Bell.

The expansion draft followed the PWHL’s five-day exclusive signing period in which both teams signed their allowed maximum of five players.

The order of selection was determined by a ball drawing, with Vancouver winning and Gardner Morey choosing to select Bell first. Seattle then had the next two picks in choosing Ottawa defenseman Aneta Tejralova and Bilka.

Each team then followed with two selections apiece, with Seattle getting the 14th and final pick.

Seattle focused on adding offensive forwards to join the already-signed trio of Knight, Alex Carpenter and Danielle Serdachny.

Aside from Bilka, Boston’s first pick in the 2024 draft, Seattle drafted New York forward Jessie Eldridge, who finished tied for fifth in the league with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) last season, and Toronto forward Julia Gosling, the Sceptres first-round pick in last year’s draft.

On defense, Seattle also chose Toronto’s Megan Carter, Boston’s Emily Brown and Montreal’s Anna Wilgren, who is reunited with Victoire blueliner Cayla Barnes, who was signed last week.

Brown’s selection was notable from a Seattle perspective. Brown captured the attention of former WNBA Seattle Storm star Sue Bird, who was in attendance during Boston’s neutral-site game against Montreal at Seattle in January.

Bird took a picture of Brown in the penalty box with the caption, “Bad Girl.” Fleet players eventually had the picture printed on T-shirts.

In Vancouver, Bell and Boston’s Sydney Bard join a blueline group that already includes the Minnesota offensive-minded tandem of Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques.

After selecting Bell, Vancouver went on a run of selecting five forwards, including Toronto’s Izzy Daniel, who closed her senior season at Cornell in being selected the 2024 Patty Kazmaier award winner as women’s hockey MVP. Daniel joins former Toronto teammate Sarah Nurse, who signed with Vancouver last week.

Vancouver also selected the Minnesota forward tandem of Brooke McQuigge and Denisa Krizova, Montreal forward Abby Boreen and New York forward Gabby Rosenthal.

Both expansion franchises are working under the same salary-cap restrictions as the league’s other six teams, though the PWHL does not reveal player salaries. And both enjoy an advantageous head start with the league limiting existing teams to initially protecting only three players, before allowed to add a fourth player to the list after a team loses two from its roster.

Each of the existing teams lost four players apiece, with the rules favoring the expansion teams by allowing them to be competitive from the start of the PWHL’s third season, expected to open in November.

With each having 12-player rosters, the expansion teams now join the rest of the league in taking part in the PWHL draft on June 24 in Ottawa.