Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is facing calls to be banned from the NHL after he appeared in an advertisement supporting Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Ovechkin, who is the NHL’s all-time leading goalscorer, was pictured in a campaign advertisement with pro-Putin figures: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-controlled RT network.
The campaign first appeared in Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, according to The Guardian.
Hockey fans were not happy with Ovechkin, 40, who is a Moscow native and longtime supporter of the Russian president.
“Alexander Ovechkin should not be allowed back into the USA, much less the @NHL. I hope the @Capitals do the right thing and immediately release him from their team,” former astronaut Terry Virts wrote on X.
“Canada should place a visa ban on Alex Ovechkin. By appearing in a United Russia election ad alongside Lavrov, Simonyan etc., he is lending his celebrity to Putin’s repressive political machine + whitewashing Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine. This crosses all red lines,” Canadian journalist Marcus Kolga added.
“Ovechkin needs to finally be banned from the NHL. He is an active supporter of the genocide Russia is committing in Ukraine,” another X user chimed in.
“Hockey star Ovechkin likes living the comfortable life of a millionaire here in the U.S. while giving his support to a Russian tyrant who is committing war crimes,” another user said. “I won’t be attending any more #Caps games as long as this guy is wearing the team’s uniform. #NHL.”
Another X user added: “Shame for the USA and the NHL.”
Some social media users also slammed the Washington Capitals for their support of Ovechkin, including a social media post Monday that read “how we’re all looking at the big man today,” and featured an image of teammate Tom Wilson smiling at Ovechkin.
“Caps player Alexander Ovechkin just appeared in a literal United Russia campaign video, alongside designated war criminals. Now, Ovechkin’s team is doubling down and doing glowy crisis comms for him. Beyond the pale repugnant,” one X user noted.
Ovechkin has openly supported Putin for years, launching Putin Team in 2017 as a social movement to support Putin’s presidential campaign.
At the time, Ovechkin told the Associated Press, “I just support my country,” and said “It’s not about political stuff.”
When asked about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ovechkin said “I hope it’s going to end soon and there’s going to be peace in both countries.”
“Obviously, it’s a hard situation. I have lots of friends in Russia and Ukraine, and it’s hard to see the war. I hope soon it’s going to be over and there’s going to be peace in the whole world,” he said at the time, according to ESPN.
Still, at the time, he held steady in his support of Putin, telling reporters, “He’s my president. But like I said, I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete. I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s a hard situation right now for both sides.”
Ovechkin signed a one-year contract extension with the Capitals in July. He has played for the team since 2004, when he was the first overall pick in the NHL draft.
He has been captain of the Capitals since 2010, winning the team the Stanley Cup in 2018. He is one of 48 Russian players in the league. There are currently no Ukrainian players in the NHL.
Last year, he scored his 895th goal, passing hockey great Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record that was set in 1999.
