Stanley Cup brings smile to newsroom

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Craig “Woody” Leydig conducted an interview with The Capital around 2 p.m. last Thursday afternoon.

Leydig, the assistant equipment manager for the Washington Capitals, did the phone interview from the team’s headquarters in Arlington, Va. Shortly after hanging up, Leydig walked into the laundry room and saw breaking news on television about the shooting incident at the Capital Gazette offices in Annapolis.

“I turned to my co-workers and told them I just got done doing an interview with a reporter who might be in that building,” Leydig told the Capital. “I was absolutely stunned and extremely upset.”

Leydig called back the reporter to make sure he was OK and was greatly relieved. However, the Annapolis resident was devastated upon learning that five employees of Capital Gazette had been killed in the horrific incident.

Every coach, player, trainer and equipment manager with the Capitals is allowed to spend one day with the Stanley Cup, a prize Washington won for the first time in its 44-year history. The Capital Gazette was foremost in Leydog’s thoughts. His third stop with the Cup yesterday morning, after a motorboat ride on Chesapeake Bay and a visit to the Naval Academy, was the makeshift, temporary office of Capital Gazette. Leydig and his entourage brought in the Cup where staff members, including five reporters who survived the attack, spent about 45 minutes taking photos with the legendary piece of hardware.

“My heart goes out to the families of those who were lost and to all the employees of Capital Gazette that have to find a way to move on from this terrible tragedy,” Leydig said.

After departing, he took the Cup to Maryland Veterans Cemetery Crownsville where his parents are laid to rest. Then stunned customers at a convenience store in Gambrills took photos with the Cup, which was then taken to Heroes Pub in Annapolis where first responders took their photos. From there, Leydig’s crew stopped by a barber shop in the Eastport Shopping Center, and the Cup was then brought to another pub for photos and lunch with patrons.

The Stanley Cup was then shuttled via boat to City Dock where hundreds of Capitals fans lined Ego Alley waiting for a chance to touch it. Anne Arundel Medical Center was the next destination, and Leydig had a party planned for family and friends to conclude his day.

Several members of the Capital newsroom are longtime fans of the Capitals.

“We want to thank Craig for coming in with the Stanley Cup. It was clearly a big morale boost for everyone, particularly the hockey fans in the newsroom,” said Rick Hutzell, editor of Capital Gazette. “The number of selfies that came out of this was huge and will be treasured forever.”