Dear Alex,
Thank you for the incredible gift of exciting hockey for the last two decades, from the dazzling moves in the black and bronze, to the run-and-gun Rock the Red era, to the pursuit of the most unbreakable record. Night in and night out, we never knew what we were going to get. You always put on a show.
Thank you for making hockey relevant in the District. I may not have been around for the early days, but as a third generation fan, I’ve heard the stories about an empty arena. You’ve made sure the arena will never be empty. There will never be a need to “Save the Caps” again.
Thank you for growing with us. We’ve seen you come in as a confident, carefree 20-year-old who has grown with us through the years. You’ve gone through the same heartbreaks we have. Through thick and thin, you’ve always been you. We’ve watched before our eyes as you’ve become a family man who takes things one day at a time.
Thank you for 2018. After years and years of heartbreak, the demons were exorcised. You were not the only one thinking “please score.” :Just f— please score as Kuznetsov went in on a breakaway. Then two weeks later, in one of the biggest moments of your career you opened the scoring in Game 7 and it was on to Vegas. Two more weeks, and it was your honor to take the Cup. We were not suck, we were Stanley Cup Champions. All the boys and girls and babes were in the streets as you were bringing Lord Stanley to Washington.
Thank you for continuing the pursuit of greatness. You could have skated off into the sunset after winning the Stanley Cup. You had nothing left to prove. But you weren’t satisfied. There was one more gift you had for the fans. You have gone above and beyond. You have broken the unbreakable record.
Thank you for being simply sensational.
