The Washington Capitals named Alex Ovechkin captain on Tuesday prior to the team's 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
"I'm going to do my best," Ovechkin said after the win. "I'm very happy and very excited."
"He's been the face of the franchise for a long time and it's well-deserved and well-earned," defenceman Tom Poti said.
Ovechkin is the first European-born captain in club history and the Capitals' 14th captain overall.
He is the sixth Russian-born player to be named captain of an NHL team - Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Alexei Yashin and Alexei Zhamnov. Ovechkin and Kovalchuk are the other Russian players to currently wear the 'C' in the NHL.
Ovechkin takes over for captain's duties from former teammate Chris Clark. Clark was traded along with Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jason Chimera at the end of December.
