Alex Ovechkin has just won his first Stanley Cup trophy in his thirteenth season in the NHL and we should be thrilled for him. He's had a long and arduous journey but has finally found the missing piece of his career puzzle.
Since he arrived in the league, Ovechkin has been one of the best players in the NHL and is now one of the greatest hockey players of all time but has not been able to lead his team to success in the postseason. The Capitals have continually won the President's trophy for having the best record in the regular season under Ovechkin but have never make it out of the second round of the playoffs.
As the team's captain and superstar, Ovechkin took a lot of the blame for the Capitals' failures and his reputation was tarnished. However, everything changed after their victory over the Vegas Golden Knights that crowned them the champions of the NHL.
I'm not a Capitals fan, and I really did not have a dog in the fight in this year's playoffs, but I decided to pull hard for the Caps, just for Ovi. He's been a generational goal-scorer and a consistent superstar since he came into the league as well as a great person off the ice. To see him get the Stanley Cup monkey off of his back was great because he's an awesome guy.
Ovechkin is one of the most likable star athletes in sports today. He's incredibly skilled, does the dirty work and is relatable. Many superstars in hockey are known for being soft or shying away from contact, but Ovechkin constantly throws his body around and delivers hard checks time after time. In this year's playoffs, he looked like the hardest working player every time he was on the ice, which led to him being voted the most valuable player in the playoffs.
He also has been known to do really nice things without looking for attention. Ovi has been spotted numerous times buying clothes and boots to give to homeless people in the winter time just out of the goodness of his heart.
Ovechkin has been going on a legendary bender over the past week celebrating the victory. Pictures and videos are surfacing everywhere showing him holding the cup anywhere he goes from an MLB baseball game to his bed. You might not be a Caps fan, but you should at the very least be happy that one of the best athletes of this generation has finally won himself a championship.
