The Washington Capitals have responded to request for comment regarding captain Alex Ovechkin's appearance in an advertisement for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Washington issued a statement to The Hockey News that was also provided to The Athletic and The Associated Press, sharing that Ovechkin was asked to participate in the video over the offseason.
"Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and will live there following his retirement," the team said. "This summer, while in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a video campaign. As the longest-tenured athlete in Washington, D.C. and a pillar of the community,his focus and ours is on the season ahead and the continued impact he makes on the ice and in our city."
Ovechkin is featured in the commercial behind Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov and standing alongside other notable Russia public figures, including NHL alumnus and former Soviet Union team captain Viacheslav Fetisov. Russian parliamentary elections will be held from Friday to Sunday.
In 2017, Ovechkin had started a social movement called "Putin Team," and in 2022, openly asked for peace amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“Please, no more war,” Ovechkin told reporters then. “It doesn’t matter who is in the war, Russia, Ukraine, different countries. I think we live in a world that we have to live in peace.”
The soon-to-be 41-year-old, who signed a one-year extension to continue his NHL career back in July, is expected to be made available to the media on Thursday as the Capitals open training camp.
