Head Coach of the Capitals Peter Laviolette delivered two special speeches on Thursday. He congratulated Conor Sheary on his new two-year extension on the ice. Inside the dressing room, Laviolette provided props Nicklas Backstrom for which she will be his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday night.
The Capitals gave fans a rare look inside the room and posted a video of what Lavy told Backstrom.
Video
“What’s even more impressive is that within the 1000 games there has been an incredible person, an incredible teammate and that you have had such a spectacular career up to this point.”
Inside the locker room for a special speech by Lavi before rehearsal.#ALLCAPS | # N1KY pic.twitter.com/fgo0q6YrcE
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) 15 April 2021
“Just wanted to get together this morning and congratulate Nick on playing in his 1,000th game tonight,” Laviolette began. ‘It’s not an easy thing to get to 1,000 matches. You must stand the test of time. And you could do it. What’s even more impressive is what the 1000 games contain. You have proven to be an incredible person, an amazing teammate, and you have had such a spectacular career up to this point. So we just wanted to take a little bit of our crazy day and just congratulate you for being a person, a player and doing what you have done for this organization over the years. So thank you. ”
The team claps and cheers. Then Laviolette unveiled another special tribute to which the team would donate Backstrom before the match – on top of that he wears his number 19 on their jerseys during warm-ups.
“In honor of you Nick, the players will wear these t-shirts in place of their shirt and wear their tie along with their suit and pants and suit jacket,” Laviolette said. ‘Take on today. We carry it to the track. When we get to the track, there will be an extra t-shirt in the stalls where the players can wear it while we warm up and prepare for a big win in honor of your special night tonight.
“Thank you very much,” said a sheep Backstrom sitting at his locker.
Screenshot thanks to the @Capitals