When Jaxon Williams went to bed on Wednesday night, he wasn’t sure which NHL team would be his new favourite.

The decision would have to wait until his dad signed a new contract.

A month ago, when Justin Williams was preparing for free agency, Jaxon told his dad he thought he should go play with Alex Ovechkin if they didn’t stay in Los Angeles, because Ovechkin is “the best.” He got his wish, one day before his seventh birthday.

“Mr. Game 7” is heading to Washington, where the Capitals have been knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in a Game 7 three of the last four seasons.

“He was all smiles,” Williams said in a conference call, when he informed Jaxon of the news. “That passed the test, so I’m happy about that. It’s funny to see how kids think. I just hope he has my jersey on instead of Ovie.”

Williams, 33, was hoping to cash in on his sterling playoff resume – three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and the record (shared with Glenn Anderson) for most Game-7 goals (seven) in NHL history.

Instead, Williams ended up taking a 2-year, $6.5-million deal which will pay him $3.25 million annually, just over the league average salary of $2.8 million.

He sighed when asked about his undefeated Game 7 record of 7-0, saying it’s a product of the teams he’s played on. Williams personally has more Game 7 wins (seven) in his career than the entire Capitals franchise (four).

More than 900 games into his career, this July was his first crack at free agency. Williams has been traded twice - from Philadelphia to Carolina to Los Angeles - and played the bulk of his career on successive contract extensions, but never hit the market.

“Everyone said it’s exciting,” Williams said. “Yeah, it’s certainly exciting. But darn is it stressful. I don’t know if I was expecting it to take that long (to sign). The end result is where I want to be.”

Williams said his family targeted Washington as a potential landing spot early in the process. The Cobourg, Ont., native makes his permanent home not far away, near the New Jersey shore in the summer.

More than that, he felt like the Capitals would be the best fit based on where the team was heading. He watched them in the playoffs and was impressed by how hard they played. 

The Kings and Canadiens were among the other teams to take a run at landing him Wednesday, but a phone call between Williams and coach Barry Trotz “tipped (him) over the edge.” Trotz assured him he would be a big piece of the puzzle. Williams added it would be an “absolute treat” to play on a line with either Nick Backstrom or Ovechkin.

Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said his initial idea was for Williams to provide a veteran presence on a line with youngsters Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Ovechkin called Williams early Thursday to welcome him to the team, but Williams missed the call, saying he would see Ovechkin soon. With that welcome comes a twinge of sadness that his time with the Kings was over. He departs an organization in turmoil, both on and off the ice.

“Things got derailed this year with a lot of occurrences,” Williams said. “Not taking away from the Stanley Cup we won in Carolina, I had the best success of my career in L.A., with two Cups and a conference final in three years.

“It was just time for me to move on. They’ve got this thing called a salary cap that comes into play a lot, especially with a lot of teams spending to the cap. I’m going to move on, but I’m always going to have fond memories.”

He is hoping he can help push the Capitals, who haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since Ovechkin arrived in 2005, over the hump.

“As you’re going throughout (free agency) you’re constantly weighing pros and cons: the team, the city, the coach you’re playing with, your potential role on the team,” Williams said. “I felt I’d be an important piece of that. I’m hoping to prove I can make the team better.”

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.