Вашингтон Кэпиталз багийн ахлагч Алекс Овечкин Оросын улс төрийн сурталчилгаанд оролцсон нь NHL-ийн түүхэнд шинэ улирлыг эхлүүлэхийн өмнө ихээхэн анхаарал татаж байна.
NHL-ийн бүх цаг үеийн гоолын рекорд эзэмшигч Алекс Овечкин Оросын парламентын сонгуулийн өмнө “Нэгдсэн Орос” намыг дэмжсэн сурталчилгаанд дүр төрхөө ашиглуулжээ. Энэхүү үйлдэл нь түүнийг Владимир Путинтэй холбоотой байдаг асуудлыг дахин хөндөж, олон нийтийн шүүмжлэлд өртөхөд хүргэв. Вашингтон Кэпиталз багийн зүгээс тоглогчдоо эх орныхоо видео сурталчилгаанд оролцох хүсэлтийг хүлээн авсан болохыг мэдэгдэж, одоогоор багийн ирэх улирлын бэлтгэл ажилд анхаарлаа төвлөрүүлж байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ.
Дөрөвдүгээр сард 895 дахь гоолоо оруулж, Уэйн Гретцкигийн рекордыг эвдсэн Алекс Овечкин өнгөрсөн улиралд 32 гоол, 64 оноотойгоор багаа тэргүүлсэн юм. Тэрээр 41 нас хүрэхтэйгээ зэрэгцэн Вашингтон Кэпиталз багтай нэг жилийн гэрээ байгуулж, NHL-ийн карьерынхаа 22 дахь улирлыг эхлүүлэхээр бэлтгэлдээ гарсан байна.
Гэвч түүний улс төрийн байр суурь нь спортын хүрээнийхний дунд хүчтэй эсэргүүцэлтэй тулгарсаар байна. Тухайлбал, алдарт тогооч Хосе Андрес болон Хоккейн алдрын танхимын гишүүн Доминик Хашек нар түүнийг Оросын дайныг дэмжсэн үйл ажиллагаанд оролцлоо хэмээн олон нийтийн сүлжээгээр дамжуулан хатуу шүүмжилжээ. Өмнө нь Оросын зарим тамирчид дайны эсрэг байр сууриа илэрхийлж байсан ч Алекс Овечкин Путинтэй холбоотой байр сууриа ил тод хадгалсаар ирсэн юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, appeared in a propaganda ad for the United Russia party, which supports the regime of president Vladimir Putin, ahead of Russia’s parliamentary elections this weekend — putting a fresh spotlight on his backing of Putin heading into his 22nd season with the Capitals.
Ovechkin, who spends most of his offseason in his home country, appeared in at least two images published by the Russian newspaper Vedomosti of a campaign ad that featured other pro-Putin officials and celebrities. Many of the images show Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov surrounded by prominent figures such as actor Vladimir Mashkov, singer Tatyana Kurtukova and Margarita Simonyan, the editor in chief of the propaganda publication RT. The ad includes the slogan, “When we are united, we are invincible.”
“Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and will live there following his retirement,” a Capitals spokesperson wrote in a statement issued to The Athletic. “This summer, while in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a video campaign. As the longest-tenured athlete in Washington, D.C. and a pillar of the community, his focus and ours is on the season ahead and the continued impact he makes on the ice and in our city.”
Ovechkin, who turns 41 on Thursday — the same day the Capitals open training camp — has long been a public supporter of Putin, the de facto dictator whose authoritarian regime has overseen a full-scale war with neighboring Ukraine since 2022. Ovechkin’s avatar on Instagram is a photo of himself smiling alongside Putin, and in 2017 he founded the social movement “PutinTeam” ahead of Russia’s presidential elections the following year.
Over the years, Ovechkin has largely shrugged off criticism of his backing of Putin. In February 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin said, “Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who’s in a war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries. I think we live in a world, like, we have to live in peace and a great world.”
He also added: “He’s my president, but … I’m not in politics.”
His actions don’t back up that claim, and on the cusp of what’s presumably his final NHL season, he’s already facing renewed scrutiny over the new ad and his continued public backing of Putin.
“Russia is killing Americans in the Middle East with drones that help Iran!,” world-renowned chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, a prominent resident of the D.C. area, wrote on X. “@Capitals @NHL @ovi8 and what Russians are doing in Ukraine is wrong…..killing civilians everyday….sad day for my beloved DC team!!”
“Everyone in this photograph has chosen to officially support Russia’s imperialist war in Ukraine,” Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek, a longtime critic of Putin, wrote on X with a picture from the ad. “Among them are also hockey player Ovechkin and former hockey player and national team captain (Viacheslav) Fetisov. Because of each of them, many Ukrainians and Russians will be killed.”
Ovechkin arrived Monday at the Capitals’ Arlington, Va., training facility for preseason workouts. The Capitals hold their annual preseason media day on Thursday. The Russian legislative elections are scheduled for Friday through Sunday. Independent analysis has concluded that recent Russian elections — including the 2024 presidential contest, in which officials said Putin secured more than 87 percent of the vote — were fraudulent.
In the four-and-a-half years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several Russian athletes have spoken out against the war and the Putin regime.
Tennis star Andrey Rublev, who like other Russian and Belarussian players was banned by Wimbledon in 2022, famously wrote “No war please” with a marker on a television camera lens shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked woman and a four-time Grand Slam winner from Belarus — which has been used as a staging ground for Russian forces — said in 2023, “I don’t support war, meaning I don’t support Alexander Lukashenko right now,” referring to the Belarusian president.
Some Russian NHL players who have spoken out have subsequently said they fear for their safety should they return to their home country. In an interview posted to YouTube in 2023, Nikita Zadorov — a Moscow native then with the Calgary Flames who’s now with the Boston Bruins — said, “All our industries went back in time because of this war — hockey, economics, culture. I’m sorry for the young guys. Instead of raising the new generation, we sent them to die.” Zadorov later told reporters in Calgary that he felt like he couldn’t go back to Russia.
As prominent as those figures are, they pale in comparison to Ovechkin, who surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s record by scoring his 895th goal in April 2025. At 40, Ovechkin led the Capitals in goals (32) and points (64) last season, when the Capitals missed the playoffs for just the third time in 19 seasons. Over the past two decades, he has become a mainstay in the Washington community, supporting the growth of youth hockey and making financial contributions to pediatric cancer research.
When Ovechkin headed home to Moscow — where he spends most of his offseason with his wife and two young boys — he had not made a decision on returning for another year at 41. The Capitals re-tooled their roster with, among other moves, a sign-and-trade for Buffalo winger Alex Tuch and a trade with St. Louis for forward Jordan Kyrou. Ovechkin subsequently told general manager Chris Patrick that he wanted to come back.
When they announced Ovechkin’s one-year deal, the Capitals deemed the event significant enough that the press conference was carried live on Monumental Sports Network, the outlet owned by Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, with Leonsis, Patrick and president of hockey operations all in studio.
The questions that day were about hockey — what role Ovechkin would play, what he had left physically and mentally, how he made his decision. The questions he will face prior to his 22nd NHL season now include familiar and controversial ground — his relationship with and support for Vladimir Putin, which he continues to put on display.
