"See you next year."
If you expected Alexander Ovechkin to back down from an alcohol-fueled promise to take the Washington Capitals to back-to-back championships, then you don't know the Great Eight very well.
In his parting words to the Stanley Cup, placed back in its specialized case and prepared for teammate Michal Kempny, Ovi reiterated his pledge to hoist the crown jewel of sports in 2019.
This followed a day of hauling the Cup around his old stomping grounds in Russia, visiting such sights as his youth arena, his first locker room, his father, and of course: a party fit for a king.
Here's a recap, courtesy of the Capitals' Twitter account:
Reunited @ovi8 @StanleyCup #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/iZfbgq8fxl
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2018Ladies and gentlemen, @ovi8 #WorldCup Fan Fest #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/eA679TN7js
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2018.@ovi8 meeting his father at his hometown rink Novogorsk Dynamo Hockey School pic.twitter.com/QlhIGku6oC
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2018The childhood locker room #ALLCAPS @ovi8 pic.twitter.com/cYVEoNiOFQ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2018Doing a few laps at the old stomping grounds #ALLCAPS @ovi8 pic.twitter.com/VmZnfGoC9Z
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2018.@StanleyCup making some new friends in Red Square #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/WuoRbWzH0d
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 8, 2018Someone filled the @StanleyCup with caviar --♂️ #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/AoBeJGcw0R
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 8, 2018Guess what happened next pic.twitter.com/uIjaWvuvCs
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 8, 2018... possibly #gr8est cake ever pic.twitter.com/dHgzLoF3rv
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 8, 2018From Russia with Love #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/2B9XqiVXWp
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 8, 2018Warning: the sendoff has a bit of NSFW language:
Next up, Michal Kempny #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/5sX4CKrTyT
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 8, 2018From sleeping with the Ovechkins to swimming in the fountains, holding caviar and every beverage under the sun, Ovi showed just how versatile celebrations with the Stanley Cup can be. It will be interesting to see how other players spend their own special days in the Cup, but they will have a hard time living up to the man who waited the longest to hoist it.
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