Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette made two special speeches on Thursday. He congratulated Conor Sheary on his new two-year extension out on the ice. Inside the locker room, Laviolette gave props to Nicklas Backstrom for what will be his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday night.
The Capitals gave fans a rare glimpse inside of the room and posted video of what Lavy said to Backstrom.
Video
"What is even more impressive is inside of those 1,000 games, you've proven to be an unbelievable person, an incredible teammate and you've had such a spectacular career to this point."
Inside the locker room for a special speech from Lavi before practice.#ALLCAPS | #N1KY pic.twitter.com/fgo0q6YrcE
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 15, 2021
“Just wanted to get together this morning and say to congratulations to Nick for playing in his 1,000th game tonight,” Laviolette began. “It’s not an easy thing to do to get to 1,000 games. You have to stand the test of time. And you’ve been able to do that. What’s even more impressive is what’s inside of those 1,000 games. You’ve proven to be an unbelievable person, an incredible teammate, and you’ve had such a spectacular career to this point. So we just wanted to take a minute inside of our crazy day and just say congratulations to you for being a person, a player, and doing what you’ve done for this organization over the years. So thank you.”
The team clapped and cheered. Then Laviolette revealed another special tribute the team would bestow Backstrom with before the game – on top of all wearing his number 19 on their jerseys during warmups
“In honor of you Nick, the players are going to wear these t-shirts in place of their shirt and tie with their suit and pants and suit coat,” Laviolette said. “Suit coat today. We’ll wear these to the rink. When we get to the rink, there will be an additional t-shirt in the stalls where the players can wear these as we warm up and prepare for a big win in honor of your special night tonight.
“Thank you so much,” a sheepish Backstrom said, sitting at his locker.
Screenshot courtesy of the @Capitals
