Thank you.

The entire Winter Classic experience was epic; and fun; and magnificent; and great for the league and for all fans.

Thank you to the NHL league offices. The care they display in putting on such an incredible spectacle is amazing. I love the Winter Classic. I am a fan of the game and I am so happy we were a part of this romantic and big time new tradition. That the NHL now owns New Year’s Day on network television is a wonderful accomplishment! Kudos to everyone at the NHL! The Winter Classic is truly a CLASSIC!

Thank you to Pittsburgh for being such gracious hosts. The city looked fantastic under the lights. The people and fans were fun to be with. The city provided great services to our fans; and everyone was respectful and nice and we had a great time at the stadium. The Penguins and the Steelers’ organizations were very supportive of us and they have a modern and world class set of stadiums and arenas and organizations that is for sure. We were treated well. I promise to return the favor and the care if we ever can reciprocate. To be honest, our local government here in DC can learn a lot from Pittsburgh as they (Government and franchises) work hand in glove in such a seamless manner to support their sports teams. They truly understand the importance of competition and pro sports and its role in civic pride and economic stimulus. World class all around. A great sports city.

Thank you HBO. Thanks for becoming a part of the family. I believe 24/7 on HBO will win a bunch of Emmy Awards. It is just fantastic production quality; great storytelling; reality programming at its finest showing people and players – warts and all – helping to reach a wider audience to help promote the game we all love and respect. This work was classic as well. Epic and I guess I will enjoy watching this final episode more than the first episode if I can confess. As I noted, “We were lost and now we are found.” A typical made-for-television drama. We will miss you HBO crew. Now go home!

Thank you to the players on both teams. They are heroes. So much competition. They are warriors playing in the elements. Pond Hockey comes to life. Thank you for all you do. The Winter Classic takes its toll on players. It inhales energy and bandwidth at high rates and then you get to play again on Tuesday. Thank you very much. No rest for the weary, that is for sure.

Thank you to our fans. Wow. It was so heart warming to see so many Caps fans in Pittsburgh braving the elements and making such a big investment of time and money and energy over a holiday weekend. I can’t say enough nice things. I am so touched by your support. I mean it. That was just awesome to see.

We win a game we get two points. We get to play another important game on Tuesday against the hottest team in the NHL and the team in first place in our Division, Tampa. Here we go. We aren’t even at the half way point of the season yet. We are on a 100 point pace. We are playing smarter hockey. The world didn’t end when we lost 8 games in a row. We have miles to go before we sleep.

Savor the moment. Get some sleep and rest. Show gratitude. Go Caps! Thank you. Just CLASSIC!