Washington Capitals: The summer of Alex Ovechkin is over

From Nationals Park to National Mall, and the World Cup in Moscow, Washington Capitals captain AlexOvechkin has ended his personal Stanley Cup parade in a gym near you.

In preparation for his 14th NHL season, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is working tirelessly to lead the defending champions to a repeat performance in 2018-19. He has also been partying tirelessly. His example has inspired his teammates to do the same.

Through the ups and downs of past seasons, Ovechkin has made sure his hard-earned summer was one for the ages. Memorable is one way to describe it, to say the least, unless you’re one of the few condemning him for showing a shred of emotion after winning the world’s most coveted trophy.

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What started off as a few viral video clips, quickly turned into the summer of Ovechkin in more ways than just one. Above all, Ovi and the Stanley Cup were seemingly attached at the hip.

Honeymoon Stage

The fabled celebration began in Las Vegas immediately after Gary Bettman handed off Lord Stanley’s mug to Ovechkin following Washington’s narrow Game 5 victory of the Vegas Golden Knights. It was Ovi’s second-period goal which kept the Capitals afloat before an eventual victory was sealed in the third – a scene 43 years and 3,701 franchise games in the making.

Ovechkin also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It wasn’t long after that The Great 8 was tearing up the Las Vegas strip, walking on stage with Tiesto, Cup in hands, partying in front of a monstrous crowd. Little did we know this would be the beginning of a noteworthy Stanley Cup bender.

Mere hours later, the Caps arrived home and Ovi led a group of stumbling Caps off of the plane at Washington Dulles International Airport. The first stop on their celebration tour happened to be the next day at Nationals Park.

In front of a raucous home crowd, Ovechkin threw out a lacklustre first pitch which personified the amount of celebrating done up to that point. He went on to redeem himself shortly thereafter. Ovi took every opportunity to hoist the Cup, and the Washington Nationals game was no exception, even as play continued—prompting a series of cheers.

All of this, followed by a shared dip in the local fountain.

From here, it was straight to the bedroom for a long night’s rest with his beloved.

He’d need some rest before being received for the parade by thousands of Capitals’ faithful congregated down Constitution Avenue and around National Mall.

Alex Ovechkin’s pre-parade dressing room antics foreshadowed another staple in his celebration repertoire, later delivering an inspirational speech for the ages. Unsurprisingly, this included one of many renditions of Queen’s “We are the Champions.”

Transparency was at an all-time high, which is rare for the typically monotone role hockey players have been moulded to adopt. It is truly refreshing to see in Ovechkin’s case, especially considering the Capitals’ lingering disappointment of years past. He really did have a blast.

However, perhaps most importantly, it was announced that Alex and his wife Anastasia are expecting a child, in addition to the whirlwind of events. Further congratulations remain in order.

The Comedown

After letting some of his teammates enjoy the new hardware, Ovi was reunited with the Stanley Cup and took off for his hometown of Moscow, Russia to catch some World Cup action.

While he did enjoy himself, Ovechkin did not forget his fans and certainly included them in the celebration. From posing for pictures with the Cup to parading with tourists throughout the Red Square, Alex was humbled to share it with those around him.

He later returned to Las Vegas to accept his Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy at the NHL Awards for his league-leading 49-goal season. That happened to be five more than the runner-up and one of the next prolific goal-scorers, 19-year-old Patrik Laine.

Subsequently, Ovi became the first NHL player to win the ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete to top it all off.

Back to Business

In retrospect, Ovi’s time with the Stanley Cup holds up as one of the greatest romances documented in sports history. Until next season, at least, this love affair will remain but a fond memory. ‘Til death do us part? More like ’til summer do us apart.

Capturing the prize that had evaded him for so long appears to have renewed the drive of the soon-to-be 33-year-old veteran. A series of clips have emerged showing just how determined Ovi is to repeat as Stanley Cup Champion in 2018-19.

Ovechkin’s training efforts even extended to Miami, where he’s taken to kayaking and sprints with his trainer, as per his wife’s Instagram stories.

One thing is for sure, no gym or ocean is secure leading up to the Washington Capitals’ training camp so long as Alex Ovechkin is around. 

Is a repeat in the works?