If there's anyone who knows about celebrating as a Stanley Cup Champion in the homeland of Mother Russia, it's The Great 8, Alex Ovechkin.
The captain of the 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals sent a special message congratulating Ivan Barbashev during his time with Stanley Cup in the two's hometown of Moscow.
Courtesy of NHL.com, Ovechkin quickly changed his tune from congratulating Barbashev to letting him know that he shouldn't get too comfortable celebrating with the new season creeping on up.
"Congratulations on winning the Stanley Cup. I, myself, know how hard it is to win it," Ovechkin said in a recorded message to Barbashev. "We are with you as one, but don't relax because next year I'll take the Cup back from you. I'm already getting ready."
The 23-year-old winger took the trophy to home arena of Dynamo Moscow of the KHL for a meet-and-greet with over 3000 fans.
Video captured Barbashev drinking the popular Russian moonshine, Samogon, with his father, Dmitry, who brewed the drink and surely made for one of the best moments of their lives.
A key contributor to the Blues' bottom-six in the post-season, the former Moncton Wildcat added 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 25 playoff games after a strong regular season where he notched 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 80 games.
Barbashev is currently an RFA and the Blues have just over $1.9 in cap space to sign him.
(h/t NHL.com)
