Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin addressed the media on Thursday at the opening of the team’s training camp and talked about his decision to appear in a video for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
The 41-year-old Moscow native said he supports his country.
“I’m Russian,” Ovechkin said. “As soon as I’m done playing hockey, I’m probably going to stay there. I’m going to live there. My kids are going to live there, my family. I’m for peace and love. I hope everything is going to be okay.”
Ovechkin does not speak in the video, but can be seen standing among a group of about three dozen prominent Russian figures with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov addressing the camera. Asked about his participation in the video, Ovechkin said he was asked and agreed.
“They asked me to do this and I said yes, simple as that,” Ovechkin said.
Ovechkin has been a longtime and vocal supporter of Putin. In 2017, Ovechkin helped launch the “PutinTeam,” a group of influential Russian supporting Putin’s 2018 re-election campaign. Upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ovechkin neither denounced, nor supported it.
“Well, he’s my president,” Ovechkin answered after being asked about Putin’s decision to invade. “But how I said, I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.”
The NHL’s all-time leading scorer with 929 goals, Ovechkin is set to enter his 22nd NHL season, joining Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry of the Los Angeles Kings in hitting that milestone this fall.
