The two members of the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship team reunited at Nats Park on Tuesday.
The Washington Nationals got a visit from two members of the Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Championship team, as captain Alex Ovechkin and former winger Jakub Vrana took the field on Tuesday.
The Nationals are facing the Baltimore Orioles in the Beltway Series as they continue to get their season underway.
Ovechkin and Vrana, who now plays for the St. Louis Blues, were all smiles as they reunited in D.C.
Both Ovechkin and Vrana are in the beginning of their respective offseasons, as the Capitals and Blues did not qualify for the postseason. The plan is for Ovechkin to go back to Moscow this summer.
Vrana was traded from Washington to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Anthony Mantha back at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline. The Czech winger got off to a strong start in his Detroit tenure before having to undergo shoulder surgery ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
Then, to start this season, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and was subsequently sent to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins to condition and get games in, and he was also waived to remain down in the minors. He did not end up remaining with the organization for long as he was traded to St. Louis, where he thrived with 10 goals and four assists in 20 games with his new club.
He still has a big following in D.C. and the respect of his former teammates, who are rooting for him as he continues his NHL comeback and career with his new club.
"Amazing. Life lessons, I feel like that's how people can grow and learn and get mature," Evgeny Kuznetsov said of Vrana. "I'm proud of him and I'm very happy, how he's doing right now."
"We check in here and there... He's had some ups and downs, but he's a great kid and we had a lot of fun together," Tom Wilson added, also saying, "He's a kid that's hard on himself. He's one of the best talents in the league when he wants to be. We had a ton of fun together, it was really fun having him around every day."