Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin Have Fun Posing With Vladimir Putin (GIFs)

Hockey superstars Alexander Ovechkin and Evegni Malkin were anything but shy striking some poses with Russian president Vladimir Putin after winning the 2014 IIHF World Championships.

The Russian national team has been celebrating like they won the Stanley Cup all week, and after a parade down the streets of Moscow, the players stopped by the Kremlin, where they were honored by Putin in a ceremony. One by one team members made their way up to Putin, who made small talk with them, attached pins to their jackets and posed for pictures.

But Ovechkin and Malkin were certainly feeling pretty chummy with Putin, who helped the players celebrate and even downed some champagne with them immediately following their gold-medal win.

Ovechkin casually walked up to Putin, and after a brief chat, he just threw up the peace sign when the cameras started clicking. Putin’s reaction was subtle, but it’s pretty clear that’s not what he had in mind for the photo-op.

GIF via Russian Machine Never Breaks

Not to be outdone, Malkin looked like the happiest guy in the world to be taking a picture with Putin. Pure joy radiated off of Malkin’s face as he went with the classic finger point pose.

GIF via Hockey Buzz

If the two were trying to make the always-stoic Putin crack a smile, well they failed, but they deserve an A for effort.