I saw Alex at the airport the next day and he was walking around with the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL rookie of the year, after he won it earlier that weekend. Everything about that weekend was pretty special.
After that, I played in Sweden for one more season just to develop and then I came over to Washington. Ovi and our entire group were great helping me adjust. Obviously he knew about the city a little more than I did.
I didn't play with him at the start of my first season. I played with other guys. I played wing. When Bruce Boudreau took over as coach during that season, that's when he put us together. From there, we just kept building the chemistry.
Obviously everyone talks about Alex's office in the left circle, but he can score so many different ways. When he comes in and he's got that shot, I've heard goalies say he's so unpredictable. The shots can go anywhere.
A lot of guys have their favorite spot, but I feel like "O," he's got that goal-scorer mentality like no one else. He has an ability to get the pucks through too.
Even if the other team is trying to block it, he knows how to shoot through the guys. What makes him dangerous is that he has one of the biggest sweet spots of anyone that I've played with because he can shoot it from different angles.
As a passer, all I'm trying to create is that he doesn't have to shoot the puck when there are guys in position to block it. More so, the quicker I can get the puck to him when the goalie is not ready, that means something good is going to happen.
I think our games fit so well together because we respect each other. We have a good connection off the ice too. We like to talk about similar stuff.
Looking back, we had a lot of games in our early years together when we were trailing coming into the third period and a lot of comebacks. We would basically just tell each other to, "Wake up and go."
And then, when we started going, we'd score like three or four goals in the last period. That's another reason we respect each other. We could get each other going. And both of us have been extremely lucky to be surrounded by so many great teammates that have helped us do that consistently.
Those first few years we hung out a lot and we were both single. We lived closed by and we drove each other to games. We had a blast. A lot of fun moments.
We have the same relationship now that we had back then, but right now our lives involve kids. So we have other responsibilities off the ice vs. hanging out, going out for dinner and stuff like that. But we still have the same conversations, same kind of dialogue in the locker room or when we're on the road.
That evolution is part of life I think. It's nice for both of us to be able to share that with not just each other but seeing other players on the Capitals grow up and start families too.
Of course, our best memory is winning the Stanley Cup against the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. We talked about it a little bit before and then after we won the clinching game, he told me he was going to give me the Cup first. You can see him tell me that on the video.
Skating together with the Cup was not something we planned. I just looked to the side and he was skating with me. It was actually pretty funny. We had waited a long time, and we went through ups and downs, and to finally do it was so special. Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps.
Since then, Alex hasn't slowed down. He's 37 years old, but nothing has changed. He's a machine. It's natural. His shot is not slowing down. He still plays physical.
I think I said this three or four years ago: if there's anyone who can beat Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894 goals, it's Alex. He's on pace to score 50-something goals this season. He's got the ability to score, and he still does it, so it's impressive.
It would be amazing to watch. To be a part of it would be something incredible, so, hopefully, I am.
