Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has come under fire for appearing in a campaign video for Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party, prompting his National Hockey League club to publicly defend him.
Ovechkin, a longtime supporter of Putin, was shown alongside a group of prominent Russians in the video, released ahead of nationwide parliamentary elections held this week. The appearance drew criticism given Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
Ovechkin, born in Moscow, has spent his entire NHL career with the Capitals, whom he captained to the franchise's only Stanley Cup title, in 2018.
Capitals defend their captain
The Capitals issued a statement to AFP deflecting the criticism, saying Ovechkin had been "asked by his country to participate."
"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 spokesman said. "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," the spokesman added.
Putin's party and the election
United Russia, the president's ruling party, is assured of winning a majority of seats in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, following this week's tightly controlled elections. The Kremlin views the vote as a barometer of public opinion on the war with Ukraine, a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
A long history of Putin endorsements
Ovechkin's appearance was not the first time he had backed the Russian leader. He founded the "PutinTeam" social movement in 2017 to support Putin ahead of the following year's presidential election, and he still uses a photo of himself with Putin on his Instagram page.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Ovechkin issued a plea for "no more war," saying at the time: "He's my president, but... I'm not in politics."
In 2023, as the war escalated, a group of Capitals fans protested outside the team's Capital One Arena, calling on Ovechkin to remove the photos of Putin from his Instagram profile.
Criticism from Dominik Hasek
This week, Czech former ice hockey star Dominik Hasek, a longtime critic of Putin, took issue with Ovechkin's latest endorsement. Posting a photo of the campaign video on social media, Hasek wrote: "Everyone in this photograph has chosen to officially support Russia's imperialist war in Ukraine... Because of each of them, many Ukrainians and Russians will be killed."
Record-breaking career continues
Ovechkin, 40, holds the NHL record for career goals, with 929 scored in 1,573 games, having passed the 900-goal mark in 2025. He is the league's all-time leading scorer.
In July, Ovechkin signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract to return for a 22nd season with the Capitals. He has refused to commit to this being his final campaign.
