Hasek reacts to Ovechkin: He represents Russia and its actions. The NHL must pay!

The most famous hockey league in the world NHL is now sleeping peacefully. But it will slowly start to wake up as its players from all corners of the world head back overseas. So are Russian hockey players, led by their biggest star, Alexander Ovechkin.

In addition, Alexander Ovechkin has now spoken out about Dominik Hasek. By the time the Russian came on the scene, Hasek was slowly bidding farewell to his long and storied career. One thing they will always have in common is that they will both go down in the NHL history books as absolute legends of the game.

However, they will forever be at odds on political views and especially the impact of the war in Ukraine. While Ovechkin is one of the longtime supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dominik Hasek is fighting on the opposite side of the imaginary rink.

In both the sporting and political worlds, he is highly critical of the Russian regime that has set out to occupy a free country. At the same time, he does not like the fact that Russian athletes are still allowed to compete in world sporting competitions.

Hasek is convinced, and convinces those around him, that the organisations that allow Russian athletes to compete internationally are directly responsible for the lives lost in Ukraine.

Hasek criticizes the NHL, Ovechkin applauds its actions

One of these organisations that allows Russian athletes to compete without the slightest reaction is the Canadian-American hockey NHL. Several Russian hockey players play in the world’s most famous league. Until now, there has not been a single doubt from overseas that these players should be excluded from the league.

Dominik Hašek has also written an open letter to the club’s management, but they have not commented on the situation. Alexander Ovechkin was also asked about Hasek’s pressure by the Russian media.

“I am not very interested in his statements. NHL clubs choose players based on skills and abilities, not on nationality,” the Russian canonist responded briefly on the Izvestia website. Ovechkin has his sights set on Wayne Gretzky’s shooting record in the historical statistics.

To this, the Russian hockey player added that the NHL is doing a great job of not mixing these political issues into the sport. At the last NHL All-Star Game, Ovechkin even became the star of the skills competition when he invited his young son on the ice. While the arena in Florida was roaring, the NHL took heavy criticism from European fans.

Hasek responds to Ovechkin’s words

“Russia is killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine and committing crimes there, including genocide against Ukrainian children. Ovechkin, as a citizen of Russia, always represents his country and is an advertisement for its actions. These are imperialist war, killing and other crimes,” Hasek wrote shortly afterwards on his social network X profile.

He then reiterated that the NHL is creating an advertisement for the Russian regime with its approach, adding, “For every season that this advertisement for the Russian war is going on, the NHL should pay 2-4 billion dollars.”

Whether this media exchange will continue, we will have to wait and see. For now, all that is certain is that the new NHL season will kick off on Tuesday, October 10.

Source: NHL