Return trips to St. Louis always special for Oshie; this time, meant even more to visit Chase, pay respect to Tkachuk

"It meant a lot. 'Chaser's obviously a fan favorite and loved by all of St. Louis," Oshie said Saturday after the Capitals' morning skate. "What a lot of people may not realize, or maybe they do, is 'Chaser' had a huge affect on a lot of the young guys, especially that have come in, immature kid, living on his own really for the first time. He was a really good sounding board and a guy that you just learned lessons from based on his amazing stories that he has. From Day 1, he was there for me. When I was in a tough spot, he helped me out right away without even knowing who I was. That speaks to the kind of person that he is. When someone that is that influential on yourself and your career is going through a hardship, you want to be there for him.

"'Chaser,' he's obviously a proud guy and made sure to let me know that I didn't have to come and see him, but I definitely wanted to. I was going to do it no matter what and happy I did."

It's one of the toughest, if not the toughest, battles of the 56-year-old Chase's life, and the news has been positive on his prognosis, one Oshie believes is due to Chase's will and fight.

"Absolutely. He's a guy that I made a point to never get on the wrong side of and cancer may have made a mistake being on the wrong side of him," Oshie said. "He's a fighter and we're all pulling for him."

Oshie then made his way to the Missouri Athletic Club to take in the festivities for the banquet to honor the 2024 Blues hall of fame class.

Among the highlights shown was Jan. 2, 2010 against the Chicago Blackhawks when Tkachuk scored -- with his mouth knocking some of his teeth out -- after being hit by Oshie's slap shot in the slot.

"I can't live that one down," Oshie joked. "Still feel pretty bad about that, but it was cool to be there last night. He's obviously a legend, not only in St. Louis but in our game and in USA Hockey. It was cool to be there and see him. There was a mad scramble after, so I didn't get to give (Tkachuk's wife) Chantal a hug, but she was very good for (Oshie's wife) Lauren when we had (daughter) Lyla and helped her a lot move into the motherhood role. I'm happy I was in town and was able to go for it."

Oshie got to visit with one of his closest friends, and teammate Barret Jackman.

"'Jax' is probably one of my closest friends or someone that I would call a brother that didn't have the same mom," Oshie said. "He was one of those people for me while I was here that was like a big brother, like a protector for me. On the ice, he was a protector for everyone, but especially off the ice for me. He's a guy that was in my wedding, came down the aisle with me and sitting next to me. It's always good to see him and Jenny and the kids."

Oshie was traded to the Capitals for forward Troy Brouwer, goalie prospect Pheonix Copley and 2016 third-round pick on July 2, 2015 after the Blues had yet another disappointing and quick postseason exit following a really good regular season. He's been with the Capitals since, won a Stanley Cup with them in 2018, but still has fond memories of his time in St. Louis from 2008-2015.

"It's crazy, just walking into the garage seeing the attendant in there, seeing all the friendly faces," Oshie said. "It's always special to come back. A lot of phenomenal memories here not only as a Blue but with the All-Star Game here as well (in 2020). I always feel very loved here in St. Louis. It's very much appreciated and I feel all the support."