Ovechkin asked to appear in Putin's United Russia ad — SkimNews
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- Washington Capitals said Alex Ovechkin was asked to participate in a United Russia party video ad while in his home country this summer, according to spokesperson Sergey Kocharov, who noted Ovechkin lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and plans to after retirement
- Ovechkin appears in the commercial standing behind Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with former NHL defenseman Viacheslav "Slava" Fetisov also participating in the campaign
- Dominik Hasek, a fellow Hockey Hall of Famer, condemned Fetisov's appearance on social media as support for Russia's war against Ukraine
- Ovechkin turns 41 on Thursday and is expected to be made available to reporters when Capitals training camp opens ahead of his 22nd NHL season; the NHL deferred comment to the club
- Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record in April 2024 with his 895th goal and has scored 929 career goals since being taken first overall by Washington in 2004
- Ovechkin launched the "Putin Team" social movement in 2017 but said "Please, no more war" after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, telling reporters then: "He's my president, but I'm not in politics."
Why it matters: The Capitals' defensive framing — that Ovechkin was "asked" rather than volunteered — does little to blunt the optics of the NHL's all-time goal leader standing visibly behind Russia's foreign minister in sanctioned campaign footage, a moment Hasek and other critics are already casting as wartime endorsement as the league heads into a season under heightened scrutiny of Russian-affiliated players.
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