When the Washington Capitals signed Brandon Duhaime to a two-year, $3.7 million contract over the offseason, they got a rugged, physical, defensively-inclined forward who could fit in both on the fourth line and the first penalty-kill unit.
But Duhaime has brought oh-so-much more than that, though. He’s scored big goals. He’s fought. And he’s also got important hockey intangibles like a steely death stare and barking. Lots of barking like a dog.
The, uh, salute (?) was first revealed in a Spencer Carbery postgame speech after the Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 6-5 in overtime on October 19. Every player highlighted by Carbery was barked at by Capitals players. When Duhaime’s “scrap” was mentioned, he began barking as a barking Nic Dowd put his arm around him in a loving manner.
While the team-wide barking has subsided somewhat since that night, the Capitals have given the salute more subtly to Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath multiple times after several big fights.
And it’s worth noting that the Capitals even made this video featuring Alex Ovechkin smiling, with the barking noises happening in the background as the captain got off to a hot start.
So what gives? Why is this happening? We went directly to the Capitals’ locker room and asked some of the main characters to find out.
“I don’t know,” Nic Dowd, who clearly knows, told RMNB’s Katie Adler. “You’ll have to ask the guy that barks. You’ll have to ask him.”
Maybe Tom Wilson will be more inclined to share?
“I don’t know,” the 2018 Stanley Cup champion said. “You’ll have to ask Dewey. I think Dewey’s the guy.”
Okay, so surely Duhaime will explain.
“Yeah, I think we’re just keeping that one in-house,” Duhaime said. “Yeah, we’ve got to keep it quiet, right?”
Thwarted, we were about to give up on this story, but as we kept a close eye on the Capitals’ social media, the reason was revealed in a behind-the-scenes tunnel video before warmups.
“X-ray dog,” Wilson said as Duhaime approached before an October 23 Capitals-Flyers game. “Confirmed.”
“Yep,” Duhaime replied.
“Do you have it [in] you?” Pierre-Luc Dubois asked.
“Yep,” Duhaime said as he raised his jersey to show off his torso area.
“You got it?” a giggling Dubois asked again.
“It’s in him,” Wilson said matter-of-factly.
Ah, so Duhaime’s “got that dog in him.” To best explain what that means, I will cite KnowYourMeme.com on this highly important matter.
“‘Got That Dog In Him’ is a catchphrase meant to describe a person, usually an athlete, who is mentally tough and able to perform in important situations,” the site says. “The term spread primarily in the sports world through much of the 2010s before other fandoms began picking up the phrase in the early 2020s.”
The meme has inspired images on social media, including this ridiculous photoshopped X-ray that shows three intimidating dogs inside a person’s ribcage.
So, in conclusion: Duhaime’s a tough guy. And when other Capitals players show their warrior spirit, that dawg mentality as you will, they get barked at in respect.
“I just know that’s a Dewey thing,” McIlrath told RMNB. “He’s brought the barking. He says he’s got that dog in him. So I think that’s — dogs bark. That’s all I know.”
