During an interview with NBC Sports’ Pierre McGuire, Alex Ovechkin was asked if he ever thought about touching the Prince of Wales Trophy after becoming Eastern Conference Champions.
“You’re going to see right now,” Ovechkin said wryly, obfuscating his next move.
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OVI TALKING ABOUT THE #STANLEYCUP FINAL! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/XS6f3h1TF3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 24, 2018
Many NHL teams in the past have been spooked out of touching the trophy due to superstition. The Stanley Cup is the award they’re ultimately playing for. Why tempt the Hockey Gods after winning just a conference title?
Ovechkin, however, did not have such fear. After 13 seasons and 1,003 games in the NHL, he was going to enjoy this moment.
The Russian machine first shook Bill Daly’s hand and rested his left palm on the back of the trophy. *gasp*
He then picked the trophy up with both hands and skated it over to the rest of his Capitals teammates.
PIC-TAH! TEEM PIC-TAH!
Don’t forget Holts!
Oh, the contrast between the ornate silver trophy and the gap-toothed, mountain-man hockey player.
Meanwhile TJ Oshie and Braden Holtby cuddled.
Here’s the final team photo.
Photo: @Capitals
Eventually, Ovechkin took the trophy into the locker room, where he posed with longtime teammate and BFF Nicklas Backstrom for this adorable photo.
After the team finished their postgame interviews, Ovechkin, wearing a suit overtop his new Eastern Conference Champions shirt, took the silverware to the team plane.
Wheels up! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/BfBadKB3yw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 24, 2018
There, Evgeny Kuznetsov snapped a pic and posted it on his Instagram Story.
When the Caps landed at Dulles Airport around 3 AM, Ovechkin was the first to walk off the plane.
Back home. Still got it. See you soon, #Caps fans. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/tHRsutJ5bK
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 24, 2018
After letting several fans touch the trophy, Ovechkin tried to put the team’s new keepsake in his trunk. It surprisingly was too tall to fit so he straddled it in the backseat overtop Pavel, his personal trainer.
The trophy then spent all of Thursday at Ovechkin’s house in Northern Virginia.
Ovechkin and his wife Nastya posed for a photo later in the evening.
