{"id":207689,"date":"2025-10-07T23:40:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T23:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/207689\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T23:40:07","slug":"tj-oshie-details-origin-of-stanley-cup-keg-stand-and-how-alex-ovechkin-was-first-player-to-participate-theres-not-a-better-guy-to-party-with-than-the-big-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/207689\/","title":{"rendered":"TJ Oshie details origin of Stanley Cup keg stand and how Alex Ovechkin was first player to participate: \u2018There\u2019s not a better guy to party with than the big man\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

TJ Oshie was recently hired by ESPN<\/a> to be one of the network\u2019s NHL studio and game analysts for the 2025-26 season. To help kick off the newest stage of his post-retirement career, the former Washington Capitals forward made a guest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show ahead of the league\u2019s Opening Night.<\/p>\n

After discussing his new role on TV, Oshie was, of course, asked about the wild fun that he and the rest of the Capitals had when they were celebrating their Stanley Cup victory in 2018. The team\u2019s captain and 2018 NHL playoff MVP, Alex Ovechkin, was at the center of most of those festivities and for good reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it definitely was [the time of my life],\u201d Oshie said Tuesday. \u201cWe felt like we were on top of the world. There\u2019s probably not a better guy to party with when you win the Stanley Cup than the big man (Ovechkin). We had a lot of good times.\u201d<\/p>\n

“We felt like we were on top of the world when we won the Stanley Cup..<\/p>\n

There’s no better guy to party with than Alexander Ovechkin..<\/p>\n

We were lifting him upside down to do a Stanley Cup beer stand” \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 ~ @TJOshie77<\/a> #PMSLive<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/IBRbphM0gK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most memorable parts of the nearly two-week-long marathon bender was when the team turned the Georgetown Waterfront into what became their version of a hockey frat party<\/a>. After a few hours of fun at a Washington Nationals game, the team moved about a half hour west in the city to continue painting the town red.<\/p>\n

Once there, the now-iconic Stanley Cup keg stand was invented, which eventually led to several members of the team swimming in the park\u2019s fountains. The quick dip has since been memorialized by a plaque placed on a fountain tower in the park, unveiled last February by Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you when I kinda came up with doing the Cup stand, it was super hot out, there wasn\u2019t a lot of beer coming to us, there were fans around us, and I was like, \u2018We gotta do something to fire this thing up,’\u201d Oshie said. \u201cSo, I told Tom Wilson \u2014 me and him are kinda partners in crime a little bit \u2014 I was like, \u2018Let\u2019s go do a keg stand on the Cup.\u2019 He was like, \u2018Really?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Yeah, let\u2019s do this.\u2019 And he was like, \u201cAlright, let\u2019s go, let\u2019s go.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Wait, wait. Ovi has to be first.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a big guy at all. Ovi is a lot heavier than me, so me and Tom \u2014 Tom has no problem \u2014 but we\u2019re lifting Ovi upside down to do a Cup stand, and I remember that next day, from lifting the Cup, from lifting up Ovi, then the rest of the guys that funneled in, I could barely lift my arms over my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Oshie may have been banged up, he says the pain didn\u2019t stop him from getting right back to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it was an upper-body [injury], for sure,\u201d Oshie said. \u201cI was on the mend for a couple weeks, but we got it going the next day, and I forgot about it. The big man definitely sets the tone, and we all follow. The pictures I have on my phone of me and him celebrating \u2013 just pure joy. It\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oshie played nine seasons with the Capitals during his 16-year NHL career, announcing his retirement from pro hockey this past June at the same place where he invented the Cup stand<\/a>. He moved his family back to Minnesota later in the summer and is set to contribute on TV with both Monumental Sports Network<\/a> and ESPN.<\/p>\n

With the backlog of stories he has, like the one he told Tuesday, he\u2019s likely to be an instant success on whatever programming he graces with his presence.<\/p>\n

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