When he finally felt ready to stomach his greatest fear, Stanislav Galiev slid the snake heart down his throat, gulped the homemade vodka mixed with cobra blood and smiled for the camera. It was this past summer at a Vietnam resort, where Galiev was vacationing with his wife, not long after signing a new contract with the Washington Capitals, which eased his nerves during restricted free agency. But Galiev held few reservations about sampling the island fare — crickets, crocodiles, scorpions, turtle soup in the shell. He had seen them on a travel TV show and made up his mind right there.
Capitals’ Stanislav Galiev is running out of time to make an impression
