ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — T.J. Oshie lingered on the ice long after many of his Washington Capitals teammates departed for the locker room following the loss that eliminated them from the playoffs.
His family was at all four games, including in New York, just in case.
They could be the final ones he plays in the NHL.
Oshie isn't calling it a career just yet, but the 37-year-old winger acknowledged Tuesday he and doctors must find a solution to his chronic back problems before committing to return for a 17th season.
“I’d love to play next year, but I will need to come back with somewhat of a guarantee that my back won’t be — it’s hard putting everyone through the situation,” Oshie said. "I’d like to find just an answer and a fix to the problem before I make another run at it.”
Oshie's back and other injuries limited him to 52 of 82 games during the regular season, and he played the series finale against the Rangers with a broken left hand.
“A broken hand is like a hangnail compared to what I go through with my back,” Oshie said, adding he's often on the floor unable to move when it gives out. “There’s been a lot of just extra things that I have to do to make sure that my back is ready to play an NHL game.”
Already expecting center Nicklas Backstrom to remain on long-term injured in the final year of his contract after stepping away in November because of a nagging hip issue, general manager Brian MacLellan said the team will support Oshie whichever decision he makes and doesn't have a date by which he'd like an answer.
“If he determines at some point that he feels good, he wants to come back to play, let’s go that way,” MacLellan said. “If he doesn’t, we’ll work it out that way, too.”
Oshie's presence or lack thereof would certainly affect how the Capitals affect the offseason, whether they can use his $5.75 million salary space or need to fill a major void.
"He’s a big part of our team," MacLellan said. “You have him, or you go out and find a guy.”
Oshie, who reached the 1,000 games milestone and scored the empty-net goal that clinched a playoff spot, long ago emerged as a popular teammate and fan favorite and was the Capitals’ emotional engine for nearly a decade while playing through injuries.
“He’s a warrior,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “He’s a guy who brings energy on the ice and off the ice. He have so much respect from the coaching staff to the fans and from the players, as well. He’s a guy who brings everything to this group on the ice and off the ice.”
After scoring just eight goals in his first 43 games of the season, Ovechkin went on a tear down the stretch to finish with 31 before being held without a point in a playoff series for the first time. At 853, he's 42 away from Wayne Gretzky's NHL career record, turns 39 in September and has two years remaining on his contract.
“If I make it, it’s good, but it’s still 42 goals,” Ovechkin said. “It’s kind of a long way. But it’s possible if you’re going to be healthy, yeah.”
MacLellan joked about penciling in Ovechkin for 42 next season, knowing full well it's unfair to expect one of the oldest players in the league to carry Washington offensively. His hope is also to add through trades and free agency to give Ovechkin some help.
Charlie Lindgren earned the No. 1 job from Darcy Kuemper and carried the Capitals to the playoffs starting a career-high 48 games. He has one season left on the three-year, $3.3 million contract he has outperformed and looks in line for a major raise, whether it's with Washington or someone else.
"We’ll kind of see what happens with that," Lindgren said. “It’d be nice, I’m not going to lie. Obviously it’s something that I’m working hard and I’m doing everything I can not just for myself but for my family and for the team and the organization."
While Lindgren is eligible to sign an extension July 1, MacLellan expects conversations but to go into the season without a new contract. He also expects Kuemper, two seasons into a five-year contract worth $26.25 million he got after backstopping Colorado to the Cup in 2022, to bounce back and have a good season.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) controls the puck during the third period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) is pictured during the third period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) exits the ice after being eliminated by the New York Rangers in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
The United Nations said Tuesday that it was no longer able to distribute food aid in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity.
The humanitarian crisis has escalated over the past two weeks since Israel launched an incursion into Rafah that closed a vital border crossing, vowing to root out Hamas fighters. The fighting sent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing out of Rafah, many of whom were displaced earlier in the war.
A U.S. official said Tuesday that Israel has addressed many of President Joe Biden's concerns about a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, although the Americans stopped short of greenlighting a total Israeli assault on the city.
Israel and the United States are also seeking to contain fallout after chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court requested arrest warrants for leaders of both Israel and Hamas. Among the prosecutor's allegations against Israel was using “starvation as a method of warfare.” Israeli and U.S. leaders harshly condemned the accusations.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. Around 80% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced within the territory, often multiple times.
Currently:
— Israel tries to contain the fallout after some allies support ICC prosecutor’s request for warrants
— Israeli officials seize AP equipment and take down live video shot of northern Gaza, citing new media law
— Analysis: Iran’s nuclear policy of pressure and talks likely to go on even after president’s death
— Days of funerals begin for Iran’s president and others killed in crash
— Israeli forces kill at least seven Palestinians in a West Bank raid
— Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they shot down another U.S. drone
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here's the latest:
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth says the doctor she credits with saving her life when she was a military helicopter pilot in Iraq in 2004 has left Gaza.
Duckworth tweeted Tuesday that American Dr. Adam Hamawy had safely left the embattled enclave. She said on the social platform X that she was grateful to President Joe Biden “for his coordination and attention as we worked to secure this evacuation.”
There were 35 American and other international doctors who went to Gaza in volunteer teams to help one of the territory’s few functioning hospitals. The teams were trapped beyond the scheduled end of their two-week mission after Israel moved into the southern Gaza city of Rafah and seized the Rafah crossing into Egypt. That closed the main entry and exit point for international humanitarian workers.
Some of the doctors left Friday after talks between U.S. and Israeli authorities, but Hamawy and several others had stayed behind, according to the Palestinian American Medical Association.
Duckworth was flying a military helicopter in Iraq in 2004 when she was hit by an RPG, causing injuries that cost her her legs. She has credited Hamawy with saving her life.
WASHINGTON — Israel has addressed many of President Joe Biden’s concerns over its long-simmering plan to carry out a widescale military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas, a senior Biden administration official said Tuesday.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity, said that in talks over the weekend with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Israeli officials incorporated many changes into their planning that seem to meet concerns about deepening an operation in an area that has been flooded with Palestinian refugees during the seven-month war.
Biden had previously said he opposed a widescale operation in Rafah that did not prioritize the safety of innocent Palestinian civilians.
The official said the administration stopped short of greenlighting the Israeli plan, but he said Israeli officials’ altered planning suggested they were taking the American administration’s concerns seriously.
Some 400,000 people are believed to still be in Rafah after around 900,000 rushed to escape, according to COGAT, the Israeli military office in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs.
The U.N says some 1.1 million people in Gaza — nearly half the population — face catastrophic levels of hunger and that the territory is on the brink of famine. The humanitarian crisis deepened after Israeli forces pushed into Rafah on May 6.
AP writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contirbuted.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli communications minister has ordered the return of seized camera and broadcasting equipment to the Associated Press after blocking the news outlet's live video of Gaza.
Israeli officials seized the equipment after accusing the news organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar. The network is one of thousands of AP customers, and it receives live video from AP and other news organizations.
The Biden administration, journalism organizations and an Israeli opposition leader put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after officials seized the AP equipment.
“The Associated Press plays a vital role in bringing the news to people in Israel, the United States, and around the world,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Israel should reverse this action immediately.”
Two U.S. officials had said they were in touch with senior levels of the Israeli government about the matter and had privately urged that the decision be rescinded. A third U.S. official said the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, had been given conflicting information from Israeli officials.
At first, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem reported back to Washington that the equipment had been returned. When told that the equipment had not, in fact, been returned, Lew and the embassy sought clarification and were told that the issue was still in the process of being resolved.
One official said Israel has “indicated to us that they acknowledge that the equipment needs to be returned.” That official, like the two others, spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.
Israeli officials seized an AP camera and broadcasting equipment in southern Israel, accusing it of violating the law related to Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar. The network is one of thousands of AP customers, and it receives live video from AP and other news organizations.
AP writer Matthew Lee contributed from Washington.
UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Agency helping Palestinian refugees reported that its distribution center and the U.N. World Food Program’s warehouses in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah “are now inaccessible due to ongoing military operations,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
When asked if he was referring to Israeli military operations, Dujarric said he spoke to a colleague at the U.N. agency known as UNRWA just before Tuesday’s U.N. briefing in New York and “They’re not sticking around to see who’s doing the firing.”
“It’s an active combat zone. Bullets are flying, so not to sound glib, so they have no access to those areas. But it is clear ... that the parties who are in conflict are fighting,” Dujarric said.
Asked about the ramifications of suspending aid, he said simply: “People don’t eat.”
Edem Wosornu, the U.N. humanitarian office’s operations director, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that the Rafah crossing has remained closed and inaccessible for humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries since May 17.
“Around 82,000 metric tons of supplies are stranded on the Egypt side of the crossing. Food there is spoiling, and medicines are expiring,” she said.
CAIRO — The Palestinian Health Ministry says one of the main hospitals still operating in northern Gaza has been evacuated after coming under fire from Israeli forces, while a second has been surrounded by troops.
The two hospitals, Kamal Adwan and Awda, are located in or near Jabalia refugee camp, where Israeli troops have been waging an intensified assault for days against Hamas fighters who the military says had regrouped there.
The ministry said Tuesday that Kamal Adwan hospital was “targeted” by Israeli troops, forcing around 150 staff and dozens of patients to evacuate the facility, including intensive care patients and infants in incubators. The ministry did not elaborate but said they fled “under fire from shelling.”
The Israeli military did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Awda hospital issued a statement Tuesday saying it had been surrounded by Israeli troops for the past three days and that an artillery shell had hit its fifth floor. On Monday, the international medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said Awda had run out of drinking water and was encircled by Israel tanks.
Awda and Kamal Adwan Hospitals were besieged by Israeli troops for days in December, causing heavy damage to both and forcing them to shut down. They resumed partial operations since then. Israel has claimed in general that Hamas uses hospitals as bases or to keep weapons, an accusation hospital staff deny.
Israel’s 7-month-old offensive in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, has devastated the territory’s health sector. Around two-thirds of Gaza’s original 36 hospitals have been forced to shut down, and the rest only partially function.
BERLIN — The German government on Tuesday expressed its condolences for the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
German Chancellor Scholz said in a letter of condolence to Iran’s vice president that “we have received the news of the helicopter crash and the death of President Raisi.”
“Our condolences go out to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the families of those killed in the crash,” Scholz added.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister on Tuesday slammed the international court prosecutor's request for arrest warrants against himself and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Hamas leaders.
Yoav Gallant said prosecutor Karim Khan created a parallel between the militant group and Israel, calling that “despicable and disgusting.” He noted that Israel is not party to the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its authority, and stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself.
“Prosecutor Karim Khan’s attempt to deny the state of Israel the right to defend herself and ensure the release of the hostages held in Gaza, must be rejected explicitly,” he said.
Khan accused Netanyahu, Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of warcrimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. While Netanyahu and Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement Monday was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it struck militants during an operation into the city. In addition to the seven fatalities, the Palestinian Health Ministry said nine people were injured. Among those killed was Dr. Ossayed Kamal Jabareen, the surgery specialist at Jenin Governmental Hospital who was killed on his way to his work, according to Dr. Wissam Abu Baker, the hospital’s director.
The raid was ongoing and the casualty numbers could rise.
The raid into Jenin is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. Nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, part of an Israeli crackdown on militancy in the territory. Attacks by Palestinians against Israelis have also increased.
Saraya al-Quds, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, said its fighters battled Israeli forces raiding Jenin.
Israel has arrested more than 3,000 Palestinians since the start of the war.
JERUSALEM — Israeli officials have seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel.
Officials accused the news organization of violating the country’s new ban on Al Jazeera. The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organizations.
The AP denounced the move. Officials from the Communications Ministry arrived at the AP location in the southern town of Sderot on Tuesday afternoon and seized the equipment.
France and Belgium each released statements supporting the world’s top war crimes court and its chief prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas.
International Criminal Court top prosecutor Karim Khan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. While Netanyahu and Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement Monday was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.
“France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations,” its Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday, around the same time Belgium Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib posted on X, “Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators," along with a statement.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders condemned the move as disgraceful and antisemitic. United States President Joe Biden also lambasted the prosecutor and supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government declared Tuesday a national mourning day for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The government also ordered all state institutions to hoist the national flag at half-staff.
Raisi visited Sri Lanka in April to inaugurate a long-delayed hydropower and irrigation project. The project, valued at $514 million, was started in 2010. It was scheduled for completion in 2015 but was delayed by the sanctions, technical issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raisi was the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited in 2008.
Palestinians mourn their relative who was killed in an Israeli military raid on the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, at a hospital morgue in the city of Jenin, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into the Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Smoke rises to the sky after explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke billows after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israeli military vehicles are seen during a raid in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into the Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinians mourn their relative who was killed in an Israeli military raid on the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, at a hospital morgue in the city of Jenin, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into the Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Israeli military vehicles are seen during a raid in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into the Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Journalists carry their colleague after he was shot in his leg during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into the Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Protesters gather at Drexel University campus during a new Pro-Palestinian encampment on Monday, May 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Smoke billows after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians look at the body of Amir Abu Amireh, who was killed in an Israeli military raid on the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, at a morgue in the city of Jenin, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
A man lays flowers near a photo of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his colleagues at a makeshift memorial at the Iranian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 20, 2024. Raisi, a hard-line protege of the country's supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels, launched a major attack on Israel and experienced mass protests, has died Sunday, May 19. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Palestinians are waiting for aid trucks to cross in central Gaza Strip on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press briefing after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Haniyeh is one of the three Hamas leaders believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pauses while making a brief statement to the media with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, at The Kirya, Israel's Ministry of Defense, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Tel Aviv. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday, May 20, 2024, he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu, his defense minister Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, are believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)
FILE - Exterior view of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Monday, May 20, 2024, that he’s seeking arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders in connection with their actions during the seven-month war. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
