Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals season might be over, but defensemen Tyson Strachan, Steven Oleksy, and John Carlson are staying busy. On Sunday, Oleksy and Carlson joined Strachan at Nationals Park to help support Strachan’s charity “Strachan Strays“. As part of a fundraiser, the trio hung out with fans who bought special tickets to the game, signed autographs for them, and took pictures with them.

“W e just started as a charitable organization that wants to raise awareness and also raise finances to support local animal shelters. There are millions of homeless pets across America and it’s something we feel passionate about, and we want to let people know the problems that are out there and try to help out any way we can” – Tyson Strachan

Strachan Strays is not the only partnership the Washington Capitals have with animal shelters. The Washington Capitals also raised money for Homeward Trails Animal Rescue through their annual calender.

Carlson has a goldendoodle named Ellie and Strachan has an Italian Mastiff named Soder and a mutt named Raja. While Oleksy has no dogs, he says that he enjoys helping out Strachan’s charity.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work at a couple events with Tyson and that’s why I was excited to be a part of today”

“ It’s obviously great what [Strachan] does, raising money and awareness. People love dogs and it’s an easy sell when they see their personalities. We’ve done some things for rescues and shelters around the area through our dog calendar this year” – John Carlson

As an owner of a rescue dog, I really love what Strachan and his charity do. I also deeply appreciate Oleksy helping out despite not owning any dogs. The Washington Capitals have always been active in the community, and it’s terrific to see how they all help each other’s charities out.

For more pictures from the event, you can check out Capitals Outsider and Russian Machine Never Breaks.