Remember the name. And remember the day. Just imagine having an entire city pause for a while. With all lovely citizens smiling and celebrating in your honor! Now let’s pause here. Take a deep breath and guess what the hockey world just witnessed! Can you? Well, there’s a name echoing in every corner of Washington now. A name that’s the backbone of the city’s pride—the Washington Capitals! Perhaps now we know whose legacy is etched into those frozen rinks and roaring hearts of Washington, right? Yep. The greatest—Alex Ovechkin!

As much as the hockey world has witnessed the glory of their beloved captain breaking the great Wayne Gretzky’s record, it’s the whole city now, symbolizing the greatness and celebrating the laurel. Now this is bigger than a slapshot from the blue line, okay? And this one is indeed going to melt your hearts away. Well, what exactly happened?

Is the Capitals’ official X handle dropping the ultimate bombshell? And not that Ovechkin chased another great record, or the team won or scored a goal, but the whole city officially got an entire day to celebrate the Gr8 one’s legacy! Yep, you heard that right. And hey, you can scream in joy, I get it! After all—“Thank you, @MayorBowser, for helping to make ‘Alex Ovechkin Day’ a city-wide celebration this past Friday!” has indeed a lot to do with fans celebrating, cheering, and singing hoorays! Well, thank you, Mayor Muriel Bowser! This one has definitely got Washington swinging in joy today.

Now that it’s official, it looks like history got a hockey stick and signed Ovi on it! And a goal horn for the arena—“Today at Capital One Arena, we come together as Washingtonians, as hockey fans, and admirers of the Great 8, to celebrate Ovi on this amazing accomplishment and to thank him for being with the Capitals his entire NHL career and being a vital component to what makes us the District of Champions,” the mayor expressed in the letter. And she did it in the most official yet admiring way possible. While raising a whole banner for the one who has lit up the rinks and written records since 2005, it was her glorifying Ovechkin’s record break, leading the team to win the Stanley Cup, and making the entire city proud.

But was it only his great stats, crazy style, and many milestones that made Bowser gift him such a priceless honor? Well, you know what they say about the power of words—that they can even win a war? And that’s what happened when an electrifying energy of 3000 fans gathered together at the Capital One Arena on 11 April and let Ovechkin express, “I spent 20 years here and I grew up like a man. Like, I grew up here and you know, like, I grew up in Russia and I grew up right now here. My kids growing up here. This is my second home. I have unbelievable friends here. Family, it’s … yeah, I love this city.” Perhaps this is what touched her. In fact, Washingtonians, that ended up being a jaw-dropping surprise for everyone.

Let’s get Alex Ovechkin celebrated!