Russia’s NHL hero Alex Ovechkin has a rare chance to hit Putin where it hurts

In 2017, Alexander Ovechkin, inarguably the best Russian hockey player alive or dead and the country’s most famous male athlete, started something called PutinTeam.

“I have never hidden my attitude towards our president, always supporting him,” the Muscovite and captain of the NHL’s Washington Capitals wrote, three years after Russia annexed Crimea. “I am confident that there are many of us, supporting Vladimir Putin. So let’s unite and show everyone a united and strong Russia!”

Ovechkin encouraged other Russian hockey stars such as Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Bure and Ilya Kovalchuk to sign up to his social media campaign, and changed his Instagram avatar to a photo of him alongside Putin.

It’s easy to imagine the smirk the Russian leader allowed himself at the sight of his new gladiatorial champion playing in front of adoring fans in DC of all places – the next year Ovechkin even hoisted the Stanley Cup for the Capitals. But it’s just as easy to picture Putin’s fury over Ovechkin’s comments following Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine last week.

“Well, he is my president,” the 36-year-old Ovechkin told a press conference a few days ago. “But how I said, I am not in politics. I am an athlete and you know, how I said, I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s a hard situation right now for both side and everything. Everything, I hope, is going to end. I’m not in control of the situation.

“Please, no more war.”

Mealy-mouthed as it was (“What!? Not only an alibist, a chicken shit, but also a liar!” spat Czech goaltending legend Dominik Hasek on Twitter, before calling on the NHL to suspend all Russian contracts), Ovechkin even tentatively distancing himself from Putin was a remarkable sign of something deeper. His words