Nearly three decades of blood, sweat and tears were rewarded on June 8 when the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, at T-Mobile Arena.
During a wild celebration in the visiting locker room afterward, Craig “Woody” Leydig jubilantly hoisted the Stanley Cup.
Leydig is the assistant equipment manager for the Washington Capitals and has been with the organization for 29 years. Consider that star forward Alex Ovechkin, the longest-tenured player on the team, just completed his 13th season in a Caps uniform.
So when Washington captured the Stanley Cup for the first time in its 44-year history, Leydig celebrated with as much enthusiasm and excitement as the players.
“It was a night I will never forget as long as I live,” said Leydig, a longtime Anne Arundel County resident. “I cannot even describe the feeling of euphoria. It was the culmination of everything I’ve worked toward. Getting a chance to hold the Stanley Cup made it seem like all those late nights and early mornings were all worthwhile.”
Leydig enjoyed another pinch-me moment four days later when the Washington Capitals parade was held in the District of Columbia. After riding through the city and down Constitution Avenue, the Capitals gathered atop a stage set up on the Mall for some formal presentations and speeches.
Every member of the organization was introduced to the massive crowd that was estimated at more than 700,000 people. When Leydig was introduced as the longtime assistant equipment manager and came forward on the stage, Ovechkin spontaneously grabbed the Stanley Cup and joined him.
Standing side-by-side, Ovechkin and Leydig hoisted the Stanley Cup together as the audience went wild.
“What an incredible moment. It gave me chills,” Leydig said “I still get chills thinking about it now.”
Leydig’s long-awaited victory lap is not over yet. The Annapolis resident gets to spend one day with the Stanley Cup and will do so on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, Leydig would not reveal what he planned to do with the Cup, but indicated he planned to make a few public appearances so Capitals fans around the city can see it.
“One of the coolest traditions of the National Hockey League is that every member of the winning organization gets to have the Cup for one day,” Leydig said. “I am always going to cherish the day I spent with that silver chalice.”
Leydig intends to spend most of the day at his home in the Oyster Harbor neighborhood with family and friends. He has three children – 18-year-old Cameron, 16-year-old Luke and 11-year-old Brooke – and wants to enjoy the experience with them.
Cameron is a standout lacrosse player who just graduated from DeMatha Catholic and is headed to Stevenson University. Luke is an ice hockey player who will be a junior at DeMatha. Brooke attends the School of Incarnation in Odenton and is an avid dancer.
“This job is very demanding during the season and I missed a lot of my childrens’ lives because of it,” Leydig admitted.
“RIGHT PLACE AT RIGHT TIME”
Leydig grew up in the New Carrollton area of Prince George’s County and was a high-level hockey player. He was a senior at Parkdale High when fate intervened and the chance to work for the Capitals came about.
Leydig played for the Capital Boys Hockey program out of Fort DuPont Ice Rink and his head coach was Phil Mattingly, who was one of the original off-ice officials for the Washington Capitals. J.P. Mattingly, Phil’s son, had a part-time job as a stick boy for games at the old Capital Centre.
“My mother dropped me off at the ice rink real early for practice because she had to take my sister somewhere afterward,” Leydig recalled. “I was the first kid at the rink and was getting ready in the locker room when J.P. came in and asked if I wanted to work the visiting locker room at the Caps game that night. It was truly a case of being in the right place at the right time.”
It turns out the kid who normally helped J.P. Mattingly with the visiting locker room was sick with the flu so Leydig jumped at the opportunity. Afterward, Leydig took time to thank equipment manager Doug Shearer, who offered to give Leydig the gig on a regular basis.
“Doug asked if I liked what I had just done and I said that yes it was very cool,” Leydig said. “Doug said if he promised to get me home by midnight after games, would I be interested in working the visiting locker room for the rest of the season.”
Leydig worked part-time with the Capitals for two more seasons while attending Prince George’s Community College. He was planning to transfer to either the University of Maryland or Towson University, but Shearer offered him a full-time position in the summer of 1988.
Ironically, Leydig replaced J.P. Mattingly as assistant equipment manager after the latter was promoted to the head position with the Baltimore Skipjacks of the American Hockey League.
For the past 29 years, Leydig has taken care of all the great Capitals going back to Rod Langway, Dino Ciccarelli, Calle Johansson, Peter Bondrea, Olaf Kolzig, Mike Gartner and Dale Hunter. That means making sure the blade of their sticks is curved correctly, their skates are sharp and worn-out gloves are replaced when needed.
“Woody is the ultimate equipment guy who is fully committed to every aspect of his profession. He can be OCD on a few things, which makes him ideal for that type of job,” said former Washington Capitals defenseman Sylvain Cote. “He is very meticulous and perfection is the name of his game.”
Cote, who lived in Crownsville throughout his 10 seasons with the Capitals, admitted that some professional hockey players can be very demanding in terms of wanting a sports drink sitting in their locker in-between periods or having sticks taped a particular way.
“They have to know the different habits of every single player,” Cote said. “Woody always knew exactly what every guy wanted.”
JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES
Leydig said the equipment manager must wear many hats and be somewhat a jack-of-all-trades. They are required to repair skates, helmets and shoulder pads. They must manage inventory and fit players for equipment. There are less glorious tasks such as doing laundry and restocking refrigerators.
“Every player has their routine. Once you get to know their pattern and routine you can stay one step ahead of them,” said Leydig, who works under head equipment manager Brock Myles.
Leydig travels to all road games and spends so much time with the players they become like brothers. He has kindled close relationships with dozens of players over the years, mentioning former defenseman Karl Alzner as a particular favorite.
“One of the really tough aspects of this business is when guys get traded or leave in free agency,” said Leydig, noting that Alzner signed with the Montreal Canadiens last offseason. “I had a really strong bond with Karl and it really hurt to see him go.”
Ovechkin and Swedish-born center Nicklas Backstrom are the longest-tenured current Capitals, so it is no surprise they are both are extremely tight with Leydig.
“You build relationships with all the players and naturally you get to know those that have been with the team a long time the best. I think the world of both Nicky and Ovi,” Leydig said.
In fact, Leydig was at Piney Orchard Ice Arena on the day Ovechkin arrived from Russia accompanied by his father, agent and interpreter.
“Alex was a teenager who knew about 25 words of English. Doug Shearer and I were there to greet Ovi and welcome him to the Capitals organization,” Leydig said. “Long after Ovi and I are both done with the game, we will continue to exchange Christmas cards.”
Washington’s myriad postseason failures are well-documented and made this year’s climb to the mountaintop all the sweeter. Leydig, who previously lived in the Piney Orchard community of Odenton, agonized over the playoff disappointments more than diehard fans.
“It has been absolutely heartbreaking. We see these guys come to the rink for training starting in July and August and it all comes to a crashing halt in April or May. It hurts coming up short of the ultimate goal,” Leydig said. “Nobody takes it harder than the players, who put their hearts and souls into this game. So when you hear fans calling the Capitals chokers, you take it personally. Realistically, this franchise has given the fans hope almost every year.”
The Washington Capitals were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round after earning the President’s Trophy for best regular season record in the NHL in consecutive seasons (2015-2016, 2016-2017).
“On paper, we had championship teams in both of those seasons. Obviously, there was something missing,” Leydig said. “I think this year’s team had two really important things: Belief and trust. Every single player bought into what the coaching staff was preaching and they supported each other like I have never seen. There was a tremendous bond and incredible camaraderie with this club.”
Leydig received his nickname from former Washington Capitals defenseman Larry Murphy, who thought he looked like the bartender on Cheers played by actor Woody Harrelson.
“Larry Murphy started calling me Woody and it stuck,” Leydig said with a laugh. “It’s gotten to the point where I put Woody on my business cards. If someone calls the Capitals and asks for Craig, the receptionist has no idea who they are talking about.”
Leydig has been with the Capitals for so long he has worked with 10 different head coaches and three general managers.