Capitals Honor Alex Ovechkin’s 700th Goal With Ceremony Before Game Against the Winnipeg Jets

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Michael Fleetwood

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Monumental Sports Network

After scoring his 700th career goal against the New Jersey Devils a few days ago on the road, the Washington Capitals honored Alex Ovechkin’s accomplishment on Tuesday night with a pre-game ceremony before their game against the Winnipeg Jets.

The ceremony featured Capitals Majority Owner Ted Leonsis, Team President Dick Patrick, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, and Ovechkin’s wife Nastya and son Sergei, and comes just a day after the family announced they are expecting their second child.

Ovechkin was presented with a commemorative Tiffany crystal from the NHL, and a customized watch from the Capitals, and a video tribute featuring current teammates and former Capitals great Mike Gartner, along with fellow NHL greats Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, Brett Hull, Jaromir Jagr, and Mark Howe, son of Gordie Howe, and Wayne Gretzky, along with Ovechkin’s parents Mikhail and Tatyana, and his dog Blaik and Sergei, was played on the jumbotron above center-ice. Fans were presented with special 700 Goal towels and have the opportunity to purchase special Ovechkin 700 t-shirts in the Capital One Arena team store or at the team’s practice facility, MedStar Capitals Iceplex.

On the day of the NHL Trade Deadline, the Devils announced that Ovechkin and the Capitals would be sent the game net on which he scored his 700th goal in a post to social media. NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, among many others, tweeted his congratulations to Ovechkin, who became the eighth player to reach the 700-goal plateau. The Capitals also released a video featuring Ovechkin’s fellow Washington, D.C. atheletes congratulating him on the accomplishment.

Per Leonsis, who spoke with NBC News4 before the game, Ovechkin’s longtime running mate and fellow franchise legend Nicklas Backstrom, broke down during his five-year contract extension’s negotiations how The Great Eight could break Gretzky’s record:

Scenes from the special night:

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Patrick Smith/Getty Images

By Michael Fleetwood

About Michael Fleetwood

Michael Fleetwood was born into a family of diehard Capitals fans and has been watching games as long as he can remember. He was born the year the Capitals went to their first Stanley Cup Final, and is a diehard Caps fan, the owner of the very FIRST Joe Beninati jersey and since then, has met Joe himself. Michael joined the NoVa Caps team in 2015, and is most proud of the growth of the NoVa Caps community in that time. An avid photographer, Michael resides in VA.
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