Thanks to an NHL mandated bye week combined with the All-Star break, the Washington Capitals have nine glorious days off before returning to action on February 6 against the Montreal Canadiens. And they aren’t wasting a second of that time.
After playing the Stars in Dallas on Saturday, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin flew halfway across the world to join his wife, Nastya, and his two children, Sergei and Ilya, in Dubai for vacation.
Ovechkin reunited with his family on Sunday and could be seen rocking a customized red Echostage hat and green swimming trunks.
“Papa is here,” Nastya Ovechkina wrote on her Instagram story.
As the family spent time on the beach, Ovechkin even ran into another DC Sports athlete: Wayne Rooney.
“Great to catch up with @nhl legend and good friend from DC, @aleksandrovechkinofficial. 🤝🏒” Rooney wrote.
Rooney played two seasons with the D.C. United from 2018 through 2019 and also served as manager of the MLS team in 2022 and 2023.
The two prominent athletes are not strangers as they first met each other on November 30, 2018 when Rooney attended a Capitals game at Capital One Arena with his son. The Capitals’ 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils marked Rooney’s first ever hockey game in-person. After the game, he ambled down to the locker room where he met Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson among others.
The next year, Ovechkin and his Russian teammates returned the favor and attended the United’s 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders in late September. Ovechkin excitedly got a signed Rooney jersey for his massive collection.
.@WayneRooney + @ovi8 =🐐 Talk‼️ pic.twitter.com/eFeAXQ05lE
— D.C. United (@dcunited) September 23, 2019
The two sports stars were also featured in a ‘LeGENds’ NFT drop by Blockasset.
