The Washington Capitals have been busy this summer with significant upgrades and general “sprucing-up” of the Capitals practice facility in Arlington, Virginia. Fresh new paint and new Stanley Cup Championship logos are popping up all over the facility, including new Championship logo etchings in the glass of the front doors to the  facility. 

I love every bit of it, but personally, my favorite “lift” just might come from one of their employees, the “Silky Swede”.

Is it me, or has Nicklas Backstrom been smiling a whole lot more since June?  It might be just me, but it seemed there was a time when spotting a Backstrom smile at Kettler was rarer than finding a three-dollar bill in the parking lot.

Ok, I might be overstating things just a bit, but they certainly weren’t a “dime a dozen”.  Whatever the case, it sure feels like Backstrom has found a higher “happy gear”, and that makes this Swede (begrudgingly) crack his own smile.

Illusion or fact, It’s great to see. Keep it up, Nicky, it looks good on you.

By Jon Sorensen