Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has drawn criticism from around the hockey world for not speaking out against Russian president Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Ukraine invasion. Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hasak was one of the first to openly criticize Ovechkin.
NHL partners have begun to distance themselves from Ovechkin and other Russian NHL players. CCM Hockey will stop using Ovechkin and other Russian players in their promotions. Also MassMutual dropped Ovechkin’s commercial with his Capitals teammate Nicklas Backstrom.
Now, New York Post columnist Larry Brooks, who covers the New York Rangers, wants the NHL and its vendors to take further action and stop selling Ovechkin merchandise.
Alex Ovechkin supported Putin’s re-election of 2018. He also uses a picture of him posing with Putin as his Instargam profile photo. Ovechkin wasn’t alone among Russian athletes to support Putin.
Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins also has raged his support of Putin in the past. Yet, Ovechkin has been the lightning rod of backlash to the Putin-led Russia invasion of Ukraine.
