Photo by Margaret McGuire

Tonight, Alex Ovechkin was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. It’s the third time in his career he’s won the award.

It’s a big freaking deal, especially if we consider the context of the local sports landscape. According to CSN’s Ben Raby, no DC-based athlete of any of the major four sports has ever won the MVP more than twice (the Senators’ Walter Johnson did so in 1913 and 1924). As much as Redskins fans love RGIII, this may even be a feat even he cannot accomplish.

Ovi, of course, looked relaxed when making his acceptance speech. With Paris in the background, Ovi thanked everyone from the coaches to the trainers and also credited his move to right wing as the catalyst that led to his huge year. The video seems to have been recorded when he was in Paris with fiancée Maria Kirilenko for the French Open, with cheering heard in the background and some lovely architecture behind him.

“Thank you very much for award,” Ovi said in the video. “I’m very sorry I can’t be there. I want to say thanks my family — my mom, dad, brother — all my friends, my fiancée Maria who support me all the time with my family. Big thanks to my line mates, teammates, all the coaching staff, trainers — they do great job, especially coaching staff. They put me on the right wing. It was kinda hard, but as everybody knows I like some challenges. It was a big challenge for me, for coaching staff, but we make it. Thank you very much and have a good night.”

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon