Washington had the fourth overall pick in the 2006 draft in Vancouver. The day of the draft Boston tried to trade up from fifth. When George McPhee asked who they wanted, the answer was “The Swede.”
McPhee said he’d run it by the guys at his table–which included a nervous-looking Alex Ovechkin–and they certainly did their best to pretend to consider trading away the pick that would net them Nicklas Backstrom.
After pretending to have a serious conversation at the draft table McPhee simply remarked to his compatriot that he “looked marvelous.”
Everything about this (except for the video quality) is so beautiful.
Jeff Gorton tried to trade their thirty-seventh pick along with their fifth to take the Capitals’ fourth. The Bruins had even written a piece about Backstrom being the top European draft pick. They like-liked him.
When McPhee told Ross Mahoney the Bruins wanted the Swede, they both knew they weren’t going to take it. The wink was a pretty definite sign.
This is Mean Girls quality trolling right here. BEAUTIFUL.
After George McPhee announced the pick and Alex Ovechkin called Nicklas Backstrom’s name, McPhee left the stage saying “I’m really happy we got him.”
Same, George. Same.
