Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis: Stanley Cup Parade Will Be Bigger Than People Expect

Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is expecting a massive celebration following the first Stanley Cup win in franchise history.

After the Caps beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to end the series, Leonsis said the following, according to ESPN.com's Greg Wyshynski: 

"I think it's going to be much bigger than everyone is expecting. We want to be able to say thank you to people in Virginia and Maryland and Washington, D.C. My goal is to create something that elevates and unites all of the people in our community, so people think happy thoughts about Washington, D.C."

Washington has been a championship-starved area, as no major professional sports team had won a title since the Washington Redskins in 1992 until Thursday.

Leonsis made it clear that he fully intends to thank the fans for the support they showed during Washington's long-awaited Stanley Cup run, as well as the players for getting the team to the top of the hockey world:

"To be honest, the next couple of weeks are going to be all about the fans, all about the city, all about the players. The amount of respect that the Stanley Cup has ... there's nothing like it in any other sport. We have a lot of work to do. We'll try to make it very, very family oriented. To make sure it's not just the players, but it's the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters."

Prior to this season, the Capitals hadn't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1997-98.

On the strength of 15 goals and 12 assists by Conn Smythe Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin, however, Washington finally managed to slay its postseason demons.

The Caps have yet to announce an official date or location for their parade, but Wyshynski listed the area surrounding Capital One Arena, RFK Stadium and the National Mall as possibilities.