sport news Alex Ovechkin's continued support of Vladimir Putin complicates his legacy as ... trends now
The hockey legacy of Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin is set in stone. Since being drafted in 2004, he's been generally regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation.
And in the grand scope of Russia's storied hockey history, 'Ovi' could go down as the country's best, topping such legendary names as Sergei Fedorov, Vladislav Tretiak, Pavel Bure and Soviet hero Valeri Kharlamov.
But the one name that could be a threat to his legacy is not a player, or a coach, or a team. It's Vladimir Putin.
His ties to the Russian leader have led to backlash - culminating in a letter from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress asking the Government of Canada to 'refuse Ovechkin entry' into their country ahead of his Washington Capitals' trip to play the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has a legendary legacy on the ice, but ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin off the ice could cast a shadow over that image of him
Ovechkin passed Gordie Howe on the NHL goals list, with only Wayne Gretzky (R) ahead of him
'Ovechkin's refusal to speak out against the genocide in Russia is committing against Ukraine, and his ongoing support of Putin and the Russian regime is offensive to the Ukrainian community in Canada,' the letter, signed by Ukrainian Canadian Congress national president Alexandra Chyczij read.
'Permitting Ovechkin to enter Canada would send the wrong message to Canadians who are already perplexed by what appears to be the unwillingness of the Government of Canada to act against the Russian regime...'
'Allowing Ovechkin to enter and play in Canada would be perceived as preferring the commercial interests of Ovechkin and the National Hockey League over the lives of Ukrainians and would be particularly painful to the families of the many world-class Ukrainian athletes who have lost their lives as a result of Putin's genocidal war.
'Canada is under no obligation to allow Ovechkin to enter our country. In the view of the UCC, allowing persons who do not oppose genocide to enter Canada is incompatible with Canadian values.'
Last week, Ovechkin netted two goals in a game against the Winnipeg Jets - notching career goal no. 802. That allowed him to pass 'Mr. Hockey' Gordie Howe to become the second greatest goal scorer in the league's history. At 37, it's highly possible he can catch up to the mark of 894 goals set by the sports greatest ever player - Wayne Gretzky.
Ovechkin has not hidden his affection for the Russian leader. Since starting his Instagram page back in 2014, Ovechkin has posted roughly a dozen images of Putin - some of just the President and some of them together, such as his profile photo.
And Ovechkin has used his Instagram account to promote Putin's political goals. In 2017, the winger started #PutinTeam, a social media movement to rally support prior to that year's presidential elections in Russia.
'I have never hidden my attitude towards our President, always openly supporting him,' Ovechkin posted on November 2 of that year. 'I am sure that there are many of us who support Vladimir Putin! So let's unite and show everyone a strong and united Russia!'
Ovechkin has posted multiple images of the Russian president to his Instagram account
That includes his profile picture, an image of him standing alongside Putin back in 2014
Weeks later, Ovechkin announced a website for PutinTeam was launched, along with an Instagram account. 'Team Putin, uniting people who are proud of the country and want to make Russia strong. In our leader, we value trust and respect for people, fairness, decency,' the post read.
At the time of publishing this story, a check of both the link to the website and the Instagram account on multiple VPNs did not turn up any results.
When the site was launched, there was some confusion over Ovechkin's role in matters after a Russian financial newspaper reported the movement was started by a Moscow-based consulting agency.
However, Ovechkin claimed it as his own, saying he wasn't asked to start this by anyone. But the Washington Post reported that some in the Capitals organization felt that Ovi was enlisted in this endeavor.
In November of 2017, Ovechkin launched the #PutinTeam movement in this social media post
Weeks after the announcement, Ovechkin launched a website and social media accounts
Moreover, the exact reasons for starting this were vague. Ovechkin said that his reasons for starting this movement were non-political in nature.
At the time, he seemed acutely aware of how his support for Putin may play out amongst Americans - especially considering he plays in Washington DC.
'I'm not a politic,' Ovechkin said back in 2017. 'I don't know what's happening out there. I know it's a hard situation, but it is what it is. You know, I play here, and this is my second home. I don't want to fight between two countries, because it's going to be a mess.'
Multiple notable Russians joined Ovechkin's 'PutinTeam', including hockey players like Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin and now-retired stars Pavel Bure and Ilya Kovalchuk.
Ovechkin still has many images related to Putin on his page, including this with an army shirt
Beyond starting a political movement to help Putin get re-elected - which he accomplished with 77 percent of the vote - Ovechkin seems to know the leader personally.
The Post reported that Ovechkin has a personal phone number tied to the leader and that Putin gave him a present when he was married in 2016.
When Ovi got backlash for starting the movement back in 2017, he downplayed his friendship with Putin, saying the two didn't have much in common: 'We talk about hockey and all that stuff. That's it.'
'I just support my country, you know?' Ovechkin said after a game in 2017.
