iStockphoto / Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images
Picture of Alex Ovechkin over glasses of beer
Alex Ovechkin recently announced he’ll be returning for another season after inking a new deal with the Capitals. He made that decision after heading back to his native Russia for the offseason, and some fans there recently got to rub shoulders with the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history after he crashed a weekly drinking session where he had an open invite.
It seemed like there was a chance Alex Ovechkin was going to hang up his skates after wrapping up his 21st season with the Capitals.
He’ll be 41 years old when the upcoming campaign gets underway, and at this point, he doesn’t really have anything left to prove as a Stanley Cup champion, 13-time All-Star, and the only NHL player with more than 900 career goals after breaking the record that was previously held by Wayne Gretzky.
However, the future Hall of Famer has delayed his inevitable induction by at least a year, as he signed a one-year, $1 million contract supplemented by bonuses worth another $7.5 million last week while confirming he’ll be heading back to Washington in September.
He remains in Russia for the time being, and some of his fellow natives got quite a surprise at a bar they’ve been gathering at for close to two months in the hopes he’d show up.
Alex Ovechkin showed up at a bar in Moscow to join fans who’d spent weeks hoping he’d come to grab a beer with them
Ovi was born and raised in Moscow before taking his talents to the United States, and he has historically returned there for the offseason.
This year was no exception, and a drinking society in the nation’s capital known as “The Green Mamba Club” had been scheduled a weekly meetup at a bar called The Clovelly every Wednesday since the end of May while trying to drum up some hype in the hopes the Capitals legend would stop by.
It turns out the seventh time was the charm, as dozens of people descended upon the bar on Wednesday and were treated to an appearance from the man himself, who sipped on a beer, signed items, and posed for photos after rolling up.
The person who came up with the idea to invite Alexander Ovechkin to their beer meet-up showed how it all went down. I translated this video for you.
Ovi is a legend. So many emotions!!!📽️ the _green_mamba_club / ig pic.twitter.com/aZAWWEaKc0
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) July 9, 2026
It’s hard to top the time Jaromir Jagr surprised the roving group of superfans known as “The Traveling Jagrs,” but this has some similar energy.