Ovechkin's Ties to Putin Stir Controversy as NHL Record Nears

Washington's Russian superstar Alexander Ovetjkin is, at 39 years old, close to surpassing Wayne Gretzky's "unbeatable" goal record in the NHL.

With 892 goals, he is only three goals away from passing.

Hockey-wise, few, if any, fail to bring out superlatives when it comes to Ovetjkin.

But the connection to Vladimir Putin and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine cannot be ignored. Putin's and Ovetjkin's bond is tight.

Created Team Putin

As early as 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and started the war in Donbass, Ovetjkin joined an internet campaign with other Russian celebrities with the message "save Ukrainian children from fascism". Ahead of the presidential election in Russia in 2017, Ovetjkin helped create Team Putin, a propaganda team for the president.

Szymon Szemberg has for many years been a Swedish high-profile figure in international ice hockey. He was media chief at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), operations manager for the Champions Hockey League, and then for European Hockey Clubs, the association of European hockey clubs.

Szemberg, who is now a consultant, wants to point out that he was born in Poland and explains:

People from old communist countries have a certain relationship with Russia.

"Acted in five seconds"

He says he admires hockey player Ovetjkin, but cannot separate him from "being one of Putin's closest associates".

Ovetjkin has a personal relationship with Putin, and the hockey star's profile picture on X and Instagram is a photo of him together with Russia's president.

That the NHL has not demanded that Ovetjkin remove the picture surprises Szemberg:

How would the NHL have reasoned if a superstar had a profile picture together with the leader of the Ku Klux Klan or with Harvey Weinstein (sex offender)? The league would have acted in five seconds. And this is a thousand times worse.

Those who defend Ovetjkin argue that he and his family could be harmed if he replaced the picture with Putin.

Absolute not, it wouldn't happen. You have to understand the status the Ovetjkin family has in Russia. It's the closest you can get to a royal family. The father has passed away, he was a celebrity (soccer player) and the mother is a two-time OS gold medalist for the Soviet Union in basketball. That family has a status where no one would harm a hair on them.

Born: September 17, 1985, in Moscow.

NHL draft: Selected as number 1 by Washington in 2004.

NHL career: 20 seasons, 1,485 regular season games, 892 goals, 724 assists, 1,616 points, all with Washington.

Main merits: Stanley Cup champion 2018, three World Championship gold medals, three times named NHL's MVP, nine-time goal-scoring leader, one-time point-scoring leader.

Source: eliteprospects.com.

1. Wayne Gretzky, Canada, 894 goals (1,487 games).

2. Alexander Ovetjkin, Russia, 892 (1,485).

3. Gordie Howe, Canada, 801 (1,767).

4. Jaromir Jagr, Czech Republic, 766 (1,733).

5. Brett Hull, USA, 741 (1,269).

6. Mats Sundin, Sweden, 564 (1,346).

The statistics apply to matches up to and including April 3, 2025.

Source: quanthockey.com.