José played in a "just for fun" game on November 25, 2013

Last Sunday night I saw this tweet while searching José's name on twitter.

Someone asked him where the game was going to be, and he said Monday at the BB&T Center at 3:00 pm. I asked him if José was playing and if it was open to the public, and he said José would be playing and it was open to the public, but it wasn't really being advertised as it was just for fun. They mostly expected family and friends. He said it was going to be a team of Russian guys vs. USA guys (even though José isn't from the U.S., I guess he meant guys living in Florida or something.) I really never did find out why this game happened, but I'm glad it did. It was great seeing José on the ice again, even if it was only for fun.

So on Monday afternoon The Stig tweeted a couple of pictures of José (you can see he was wearing his old Capitals mask...one of my all-time favorites.)

José's team won in a shootout, but again it was mainly just for fun. I don't know if any of the other guys play/played professionally or not. I was told the defense in front of José was definitely weak. ;) But one thing The Stig tweeted that was kind of neat: "Listening to Theo talk between periods. Definitely fresh out of the NHL. Telling defenseman where to be, what to do, very smart."

And I was sure to point out he's only temporarily "out of the NHL." He'll be back.

And my friend and fellow José fan, Nelly, raced to the BB&T when she found out for sure José was there and took some great pictures and video.

A quick one of him skating to the bench with his mask up.

And this one is fun at the beginning because one of the Russian players kind of "hugs" José and they both have big smiles along with the ref. It's nice to see José having fun. And at the :10 mark, you can see him do what I call his "scrunchy face mask adjustment" that he often does before faceoffs. He kind of shrugs his shoulders and scrunches his face up and looks up and somehow adjusts his mask without his hands, haha. There are some photos through his career of that scrunchy face and I always smile.

And the most awesome thing to come out of the day...goalie love/post-game video. Smiles and fun all around.

Then The Stig had the opportunity to meet José after the game and shared the photo. When I asked if he was able to meet José he said, " I had to steal him from his family to take a picture and get an autograph. He had no problem though, very polite." (José is always so polite to fans!)