Alexander Ovechkin has appeared in a campaign video for United Russia, the country’s ruling political party, ahead of parliamentary elections that run from September 18 to 20. Dominik Hasek, as he has many times before, responded by arguing that the Washington Capitals captain should not be allowed to play in North America at all.
The video is part of a series United Russia has rolled out showing candidates on its party list alongside their supporters. Ovechkin features in one centered on Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, appearing in a group photo that also includes RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, State Duma international affairs official Vyacheslav Nikonov, Roscosmos deputy director general Sergei Krikalev, actor Vladimir Mashkov and singer Tatyana Kurtukova. Soviet hockey great Vyacheslav Fetisov, now a United Russia lawmaker in the State Duma, is also in the shot.
Alexander Ovechkin slammed
Dominik Hasek, one of the all-time great goalies of the NHL, went after the video directly on X.
“Everyone in this photograph has chosen to officially support Russia’s imperialist war in Ukraine. Among them are also hockey player Ovechkin and former hockey player and national team captain Fetisov,” Hasek wrote. “Because of each of them, many Ukrainians and Russians will be killed.”
Asked whether Alexander Ovechkin should be barred from entering Canada and the United States, Hasek said his position extends much further than one player.
“Yes, but not just Ovechkin! Any Russian citizen who does not officially condemn Russia’s imperialist war effectively serves as an advertisement for that war,” he wrote. “And because of the competition (e.g. NHL) in which they participate, Ukrainian and Russian people will be killed.”
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None of this is new territory for Hasek, who has spent years calling on the NHL to remove Russian players from the league and has argued that their continued participation amounts to an endorsement of the war. He has also drawn direct retaliation for it – after Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that he was awaiting Hasek’s suicide, prompting Czech political leaders to publicly condemn the remark.
Ovechkin’s comments
Ovechkin’s ties to the Russian leadership are long-established. He launched the PutinTeam movement in 2017 in support of Vladimir Putin‘s re-election, and a photo of the two has served as his Instagram profile picture.
In February 2022, days after the invasion began, he called for an end to the fighting while declining to criticize Putin directly.
“Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who is in the war – Russia, Ukraine, different countries. I think we have to live in peace and a great world,” Ovechkin said at the time, adding that Putin “is my president” and that he is “not in politics.”
Russia’s State Duma elections are scheduled for September 18 to 20, 2026.
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