If it weren’t all documented on the internet, there are a lot of things from the Washington Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup celebration that could’ve been lost to the drunken haze of history.
Former Caps winger Alex Chiasson remembers all of it – well, most of it – and still cherishes those memories.
“It’s still a little bit blurred from back then,” he joked to reporters on Thursday while serving as a guest coach for Capitals’ Development Camp. His only lamentation was how quickly those celebratory months went by and how brutal the hockey business is.
“Yeah, I remember everything,” he continued. “I think what was hard is obviously we enjoyed ourselves. We had a good time, rightfully so. And then the summer started, everyone went kind of like their separate way. And I went, I signed with Edmonton. So, I didn’t get a chance to come back and kind of like catch up with everyone. It was kind of like on the go… That’s how hockey works. But every time I see anyone, it’s always something [that] comes up. And we talk about, you know, that week there and how much we celebrated, the parade… I have some pictures from back then. And you look back, you’re like, wow. I guess I wish I soaked it in a little bit more. It was quite a great time.”
But the 34 year old has plenty of mementos from that playoff run and his time in DC, including one from captain Alex Ovechkin, as originally reported by RMNB.
“I got a lot of stuff [from him],” Chiasson told RMNB’s Katie Adler. “I don’t know if I want to share it because a lot of that stuff is special. But I have one of, I don’t know if you remember, after we won [the Cup], we went to a [Nationals] baseball game and they gave Ovi, you know, a jersey to throw the first pitch. And he actually signed that jersey and gave it to me. So, not going to say where it is.”
Chiasson was, indeed, referring to the famous day in Caps lore when the team was hosted by the Nats shortly after painting Las Vegas red for their post-Game 5 triumph over the Golden Knights. That afternoon was followed up by several players including Ovechkin, TJ Oshie and Tom Wilson taking a soak in the Georgetown fountains – now marked by a commemorative plaque – where video of The Great Eight doing a keg stand out of the Stanley Cup went viral. Ovechkin was wearing the same custom white Nationals jersey Chiasson said he signed and gifted him.
“I have a lot of stuff like that, that I’ve collected. But, yeah, for O to take the time, and he wanted me to have it, yeah, it means a lot,” he said.
Even just playing a single year with Ovechkin means Chiasson was a part of history. He contributed exactly one secondary assist to The Great Chase during a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 22, 2017.
After Ovechkin passed Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for the most career NHL goals all-time on April 6 of this year, Chiasson said they got to share a congratulatory moment.
“I reached out to him. I sent him a text and [he] replied right away, and we got to exchange a little bit,” he said. “It’s special, you know. Just for me to play the year with, you know, the greatest goal scorer that’s ever played, but also have won the Stanley Cup that he’s won with, you know. I think [it] gives you a little bit of perspective… He’s a special man.”
Just about every player who has laced up skates in the Capitals locker room since the 2018 Stanley Cup run has kept or been gifted some piece of Ovechkin memorabilia. Players this year were, of course, quick to snag artifacts from the Gretzky-passing game.
But for Chiasson, who hung up his skates after an 11-year career in January, you could say it was the friends he made along the way that mattered most.
“I would say the one thing I’ve realized this year is from, obviously, stepping away from the game is – not that I took it for granted, but, you know, what a great opportunity to have played with Ovi for a year. Obviously, the greatest goal scorer that’s ever played the game. And then just everything that we went through here… I think we had such a good group,” he reminisced. “Just great memories… We had a lot of fun here.”
