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Alex Ovechkin and Vladimir Putin
The NHL has spent years doing what it can to gloss over the fact that one of its biggest stars is a fairly unabashed supporter of Vladimir Putin. Alex Ovechkin’s ties to the Russian autocrat have caused some headaches for the league and the team he’s spent his entire career with, and the Capitals had to issue a statement after he popped up in a campaign ad ahead of an upcoming election in his native country.
It’s been four years since Russia invaded Ukraine and sparked a conflict that continues to this day. The impact it’s had on sports is the ultimate afterthought compared to its effect on the lives of people who’ve been subjected to the horrors of war, but there have nonetheless been some major repercussions in the realm of athletics.
Russian athletes (along with those from Belarus, which has aided the aggressor) have been banned from competing under the country’s flag in the Olympics since 2022, and a number of governing bodies have taken similar measures.
The International Ice Hockey Federation has prohibited teams from Russia and Belarus from competing in sanctioned events since 2022, and Russia was not one of the four countries represented at the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off despite having the fourth-highest representation.
The league has also had to confront the awkward reality of Alex Ovechkin’s support for Vladimir Putin, the man who currently serves as the president of Russia and has essentially ruled the country for over 25 years.
The forward is currently gearing up for his 22nd season with the Capitals, and the franchise had to do some damage control after he popped up in an ad for a political party that’s thrown its support behind the authoritarian head of state.
The Capitals referred to Alex Ovechkin as “a pillar of the community” in a statement addressing his appearance in an ad for a pro-Putin political party
It’s hard to envy Russian NHL players who can only do so much to avoid getting embroiled in the geopolitical fallout of the decisions made by the political leaders in the land where they hail from.
To say the current Russian regime is less than tolerant of dissidents would be the ultimate understatement, and athletes run the risk of attracting its ire and possibly endangering family members back home if they decide to voice their opposition to its moves and policies.
It’s one thing to take a neutral stance, but openly throwing your support behind Putin is going to open you up to plenty of criticism. However, the threat of blowback hasn’t prevented Ovechkin from being a pretty staunch supporter.
The future Hall of Famer has had a photo of himself and Putin as his profile picture on Instagram for around a decade (one he reportedly declined to change after the invasion of Ukraine to avoid ruffling feathers), and in 2017, he championed the “PutinTeam” movement on social media to drum up support ahead of the presidential election.
He did call for peace in the region in 2022, adding that he’s “not in politics” but still referring to Putin as “my president.”
It would appear he is now in politics, as the 41-year-old garnered plenty of attention after he appeared in a campaign ad for United Russia, the pro-Putin party that is looking to expand its stranglehold on the Duma (where it currently holds 70% of the 450 seats) in the parliamentary elections later this week.
Ovechkin just appeared in a campaign video for United Russia — Putin’s party. Standing next to him: Sergei Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan. Russia’s Foreign Minister and its chief war propagandist.
Keep sports out of politics, they said. pic.twitter.com/hElCYj10i9
— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) September 14, 2026
That development caused enough of a stir to make the Capitals issue a statement addressing it, and they channeled their inner Switzerland by taking a pretty neutral stance while going out of their way to acknowledge his contributions to the team over the years.
In response to Alex Ovechkin appearing in a campaign commercial for United Russia, the Capitals have issued the following statement to multiple outlets: pic.twitter.com/tjwCrqhCHP
— RMNB (@rmnb) September 15, 2026
It’s certainly not the most inspiring reaction, but I guess you kind of have to expect it given the impact he’s had in Washington.