Things got a little dusty in the Ottawa Senators locker room on Thursday.
The team celebrated forward Derick Brassard's 1,000th career game before taking on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden and the gift moved him to the brink of tears. Brassard, who has pretty much seen it all in his 16 NHL seasons, had a gift wheeled out to him in the visitors locker room before the game. In true hockey player fashion, the gift was not wrapped, but covered in a towel. Nevertheless, the reveal of a lavish Rolex watch brought up all sorts of feels for Brassard.
We're not teary, you are 🥹
Ahead of his 1000th NHL game, the #Sens players came together to celebrate Derick Brassard and presented him with a few gifts!#GoSensGopic.twitter.com/y1O2fiiW0F
"That's too much," Brassard said as he got emotional. Before the big gift reveal, the team and staff all wore red T-shirts with "Brassard 1000" around a drawn caricature likeness of him on the front.
"This is way too much. I know you guys put a lot of money into this," he said. "It's been a crazy ride. Lot of air miles." Hugs were given out in the locker room, but the gift-giving was not done. The team celebrated officialy on Saturday, the Senators first home game since the milestone.
Now in his second stint with the Senators, Brassard has also played for the Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers in his career. Each team logo was emblazoned on the inside of a wooden box which contained six bottles of wine, another gift from his teammates.
