Washington Capitals fans finally have something they can agree with Pittsburgh Penguins fans about.
Saturday, graphic designer Chris Ramirez published his latest absurd NHL swap. And if you hated his creation of Tom Wilson as a Penguin, you’re going to want to hurl your computer out the window after seeing this monstrosity.
If you had the chance to change your fate…
would ya?
#AbsurdNHLSwaps pic.twitter.com/AWwoRBwDAk— Chris Ramirez (@CRamirezCalif) April 25, 2020
Chris had Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby change teams, photoshopping Ovi into a number eight Penguins jersey and Crosby into a number 87 Capitals sweater.
The City of Pittsburgh responded on Twitter.
Not cool.
— City of Pittsburgh (@CityPGH) April 25, 2020
So did the Pittsburgh Penguins.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 25, 2020
In five minutes on RMNB’s Instagram, the photoshop garnered over 60 negative comments.
I can say with all honesty as a fan that even though Crosby has won three Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh, I wouldn’t trade the fan experience with Ovechkin for anything – even if it’s two fewer Cups. I can’t imagine clapping for an athlete that once complained that fans were celebrating a hat trick too hard.
The funniest part is that Crosby came dangerously close to becoming Alex Ovechkin’s teammate in Washington. The Capitals selected Ovechkin first overall at the 2004 NHL Draft after winning the lottery. The next season was canceled due to the NHL lockout. Since there were no games, the NHL considered allowing teams to pick in the same order at the 2005 NHL Draft. Instead, they held a weighted lottery to determine the order in the first round and in the second round the order was reversed (the team with the 30th pick would also receive the 31st pick). The Penguins won the lottery and selected Crosby. The Capitals got the 14th pick and selected defenseman Sasha Pokulok. Pokulok never played a game in the NHL.
Since then, Ovechkin and Crosby have been, year-after-year, two of the best players in the NHL and have had one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. Ovi even challenged Crosby to a fight in 2018.
“[H]e always had a great understanding of how impactful he has been in the National Hockey League. Him and Sidney Crosby after the lockout,” Barry Trotz said in a recent interview. “Those two guys were the face of the NHL. In some ways, they saved the NHL.”
