Hockey Fans Roiled Over NHL Star's Ad for Pro-Putin Party

Alex Ovechkin is back in the Russian political spotlight as he gears up for another NHL season. The Washington Capitals star appears in a new campaign ad for United Russia, the party aligned with Vladimir Putin, per the Guardian, citing Russian business outlet Vedomosti. Images show Ovechkin alongside prominent pro-Kremlin figures, including foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of propaganda outlet RT. (Check out the ad here.)

Ovechkin has publicly backed Putin for years, launching a "Putin Team" social movement in 2017 and praising the Russian leader's "fairness," "righteousness," and "the fact that he really cares." After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin struck a more cautious tone, saying he wanted the war to end but still calling Putin "my president." The Independent notes that the 40-year-old, who broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record last year and signed a one-year extension with Washington in July, isn't making fans happy with his move.

"Alexander Ovechkin should not be allowed back into the USA, much less the @NHL," one commenter insisted. "I hope the @Capitals do the right thing and immediately release him from their team." Another wrote, "Ovechkin needs to finally be banned from the NHL. He is an active supporter of the genocide Russia is committing in Ukraine." And from one more: "Shame for the USA and the NHL."