The Washington Capitals were in the presence of a real life ice cheetah on Tuesday.
Former Capital Jason Chimera made an appearance at the team’s practice held at Rogers Place. The Capitals posted a photo of Chimera on the Capitals bench sharing a laugh with Alex Ovechkin.
#Gr8 to see you, Chimmer 👋 pic.twitter.com/1sJzvYr8o9
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 12, 2024
Originally drafted by his hometown Edmonton Oilers in 1997, Chimera spent parts of seven seasons in Washington, posting 197 points (82g 115a) in 490 games. He scored 20 goals for the Capitals twice — in 2010-11 and 2015-16. Chimera was initially acquired during the 2009-10 in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Capitals sent then captain Chris Clark to the Blue Jackets which paved the way for Ovechkin to become Captain.
“It was funny,” Chimera said last week on The Jason Gregor Show. “I had my buddies in Columbus and all my comforts. All of a sudden, I was in the airport and was like ‘Holy f***, I could win a Stanley Cup this year.’ They won the Presidents’ Trophy that year and I was like, ‘This is going to be unbelievable.’”
Chimera remains fond of his time in Washington due to the family-like atmosphere the team fostered and how Ovechkin treated all his teammates.
“He’s just one of those guys where he would celebrate your successes as much as you would,” Chimera said. “Like you’d score, he’d be happier than hell for you. When you score three goals, he’d be happier than hell for you. He would genuinely be happy for you. He was really nice to Cale and Ryann my two kids. Every time they came in, he hugged them.”
Chimera would retire after the 2017-18 season after stints with the New York Islanders and Anaheim Ducks, ending his career with 1,107 games.
“It went by way too fast,” Chimera said, “but it was fun.”
Chimera, now 44, has transitioned to coaching since his playing career ended after the 2017-18 NHL season, becoming a bench boss of his daughter Ryann’s team the U15AA Pandas Black in the AFHL. Ryann scored 66 points in 31 games this season including 20 goals.
“They come to the rink and work,” Chimera said. “They work their butt off for me. They have fun. They enjoy each others’ company. It’s been so enjoyable coaching these girls. I can’t thank those girls enough.”
He added, “I did more TikToks than I ever did in my life.”
Chimera was recently hired as head coach of OHA Edmonton’s U18 Female Prep team for the 2024-25 season.
🌟 Introducing the new Head Coach for our 2024-2025 U18 Female Program: Jason Chimera! 🏒
We are thrilled to welcome Jason Chimera as the head coach for our U18 Female program for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.Read the full article ➡️ https://t.co/LlsHs2KaCO pic.twitter.com/JPpI3lK4tx
— OHA Edmonton (@OHAEdmonton) March 11, 2024
His son Cale also plays for the OHA Edmonton U17 Prep.
“They’re both really good skaters,” Chimera said of his kids. “I don’t force them to do it. I’m not one of those dads.”
