Chronicling Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup celebration shenanigans

Evan Sporer

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Chronicling Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup celebration shenanigans image

The Washington Capitals have waited years (44 to be exact) and Alex Ovechkin himself has waited 13 to win the Stanley Cup for the first time, so forgive them for partying.

After the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 to end a long championship drought for franchise and city, the party was officially on in Washington. And it's anyone's guess when it will stop, with training camp not until August.

So with that being said, we're going to follow Ovechkin and co.'s drunken debauchery all offseason, and a tale of slurred words, light beer, and drinking things out of a silver trophy.

This is the Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup story, preserved and catalog for future memory for those (the players) who may soon forget.

Saturday, July 7

The World Cup isn't the only prestigious sporting trophy in Russia in the month of July. With the Capitals contingency of Dmitry Orlov, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and most importantly, Alex Ovechkin, you knew the Stanley Cup would make its way overseas and to their home country. 

"I'm going to share it with all the people who I know, people who I don't know," Ovechkin said in June, per NHL.com. "But I'm just going to share my moment with them because lots of fans haven't seen it, never touched it."

That's currently where Ovechkin and the trophy he seems to always be around currently find themselves. Ovechkin took in Russia's surprising knockout stage victory against Spain with NHL buddies Alexander Radulov, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk, and is making much more of an event of things on Saturday, greeting fans and taking pictures.

Ovechkin has a tigh itinerary on Saturday. He was scheduled to land 11 a.m. local time, after which he was bringing the trophy to the FIFA World Cup Fan Fest near Moscow State University for three hours, beginning at 1 p.m. From there, he'll jet over to Dynamo Moscow's Training Center and Hockey School to spend time with some of its students and their families.

The trophy is supposed to be back in Sochi for another FIFA Fan Fest Saturday evening prior to Russia's quarterfinal World Cup matchup against Croatia. Ovechkin himself is expected to take in that match at a nearby karaoke club

Tuesday, June 12

The parade got very rowdy, so here is a 'Best Of' from a sunny, beer-soaked day in DC:

Some naughty language by Ovechkin (NSFW) as he serenades the crowd with the Capitals mantra to end the festivities.

If you had Evgeny Kuznetsov as the first player to swear on the mic, you win!

Again, T.J. Oshie with supreme beer knowledge of how to properly filter a Bud Light.

Jakub Vrana is 22 years old and familiar with all the young, hip dances.

Nathan Walker is bringing the Stanley Cup back to Australia, but not before chugging a beer on stage.

Brett Connolly is here to do two things: Get introduced on stage, and chug Bud Light.

Andre Burakovsky seems to lost control of his arms and is having involuntary spasms.

Oh no, who decided it was a good idea to give Jakub Vrana a megaphone?

Better new: His hand-eye coordination seems unaffected by days of binge drinking.

Good news: Jakub Vrana is alive and well and in attendance for the day's festivities.

It's Parade Day. Let's get weird.

Monday, June 11

What a night! Ovechkin and Holtby share a brief conversation with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show and then quickly get back to drinking out of the Stanley Cup. The trio are joined on stage by Triple Crown-winning jockey Mike Smith and share a drink before Fallon goes for the now infamous "Cup stand."

Ovechkin and Holtby (and we hope the Stanley Cup) have arrived at The Tonight Show studio in Manhattan for their late-night TV appearance with Jimmy Fallon.

Ovechkin, Holtby and the Stanley Cup are back on the move as they make their way into Manhattan. It appears Holtby got relegated to the back seat so Ovechkin could sit next to his new best friend.

Sorry Braden!

And they're on the ground! No suprise here, but it's Ovechkin carefully carrying the Stanley Cup off the plane.

Next stop: New York City! Ovechkin, Braden Holtby and the Stanley Cup are heading up the coast in style for an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Pretty quiet on the Capitals celebration front but, good news: Ovechkin is alive! He's also actually put down the Stanley Cup but it appears the commemorative hat is glued to his head. (There's pain in those eyes.)

Sunday, June 10

Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Capitals were filmed belting out to Queen's 'We are the Champions' following their historic win. If you think Ovechkin would get tired of the song three days later, you'd be terribly mistaken. Ovechkin's wife filmed the Capitals' captain singing the iconic song once again, this time as he was grilling.

Lets' just say that Ovechkin is not the only Caps player enjoying this championship to the max! 22-year-old winger Jakub Vrana, who scored three goals and eight points in his first NHL post-season, has been front and center in much of the Stanley Cup celebration, including his well-documented late night tattoo.

 

 

For our fun, Vrana chronicled his exploits on video. Definitely worth a look!

Party on Jake!

 

 

While Ovi presumably continues to sleep off Saturday's antice, Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in with this:

 

 

After a full day of celebratory antics Saturday in D.C., Alex Ovechkin -- and the Stanley Cup -- finally made it back to Ovi's residence in McLean, Virginia. There, the party continued with family and friends, including Russian teammates Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov.

Eventually, even The Great 8 needed to crash, though he and wife Nastya had to share their bed with the family's special new friend.

 

 

Saturday, June 9

A question many of us are probably asking: Do the Capitals, literally only 48 hours into this celebratory binge, need to pace themselves? Heck no, says Taylor Hall.

Never has a man in a suit wanted to get someone back inside faster because of a liability issue. A day of drinking and holding a large, heavy metallic object on the rooftop of a bar? No thank you. (Seriously, has Ovechkin put down the Stanley Cup yet?)

UPDATE: Upon further inspection, it is actually Lars Eller wearing Ovechkin's Nationals jersey. Apparently, Russian machine does break.

In case you hadn't heard, the Washington Capitals are Stanley Cup champions (my friend). At this point, you just have to be impressed with Alex Ovechkin's stamina and oh my God is that a big bottle of champagne Tom Wilson is holding. And take a look at Nicklas Backstrom's pointer finger on his right hand, which is kind of just sticking out from the others and probably still mangled.

Braden Holty did All the Big Things with his miracle save in Game 2, but that didn't stop him from getting down to some "Blink 182" on a party bus. The Corona is a nice change of pace from the standard issue Bud Light. Also spot Devante Smith-Pelly in there, and Andre Burakosvky, whose new tattoo must be dry.

It appears that, according to his Instagram story, Andre Burakovsky is getting a commemorative, Stanley Cup tattoo. (Underrated part of this picture: Burakovsky pulling up the sleeve on his shirt to reveal the tattoo near his wrist.)

Stanley Cup tattoos, so hot right now.

You'll never know who you'll bump into out on the town in DC and, oh look, it's Jared and Ivanka Trump.

Why walk into the front door of the bar when you're headed straight to the patio anyway? Also of note: Two hats.

It's 75 degrees and humid in DC so what better a way to cool off than a quick dip in a fountain? (Can't forget your offseason conditioning, too; always a bigger target on your back when you're the defending Stanley Cup champions).

(Nobody told T.J. Oshie not to wear pants in the pool?)

It also might just be the summer of Barry Trotz!

Ovechkin, with Cup in tow, has made it to Georgetown and debuted the infamous "Cup stand."

If you drink the alcohol through the shirt, it filters and actually doesn't affect your body as quickly. Life lessons from T.J. Timothy Jimothy Oshie.

The Capitals are back in DC and at the Nationals game to throw out the first pitch. Ovechkin also conducted an in-game interview while chugging a Bud Light. It went exactly how you expected it to.

Evan Sporer