Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is entering his 22nd season in the NHL and has a chance to set another goal-scoring record.
But the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer's opening news conference for the 2026-27 season also dealt with his appearance in a political ad for the United Russia Party, which supports president Vladimir Putin.
Multiple Russian news outlets have published images and video of the commercial showing Ovechkin, a Moscow native, standing behind Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, a prominent figure in Putin's Kremlin and the leading parliamentary candidate for the United Russia Party. Other Russian celebrities appeared in the ad.
"They asked me to do this, and I said yes," he said at the opening of his news conference,
which occurred on his 41st birthday.
He said there was no hesitiation on his part.
"I'm Russian and I support my country," he said.
He's planning to live with his family is Russia after he retires.
"I'm for peace and love and I hope everything is going to be OK," he said.
He said he heard no backlash over the ad, but there has been.
Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek, a Czechia native and frequent critic of Russia's war against Ukraine, said, "Everyone in this photograph has chosen to officially support Russia's imperialist war in Ukraine. Among them are also hockey player Ovechkin and former hockey player and national team captain (Slava) Fetisov. Because of each of them, many Ukrainians and Russians will be killed."
Alex Ovechkin's ties to Vladimir Putin
Ovechkin has been tied to Putin before the political ad.
He had started a social movement supporting Putin ahead of the 2017 Russian presidential election, and a picture of the two of them is the profile picture of the winger's Instagram account.
The Capitals had called a news conference in February 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in which Ovechkin answered questions about the war.
"It’s a hard situation. I have lots of friends in Russia and Ukraine, and it’s hard to see the war," he told reporters. "I hope soon it’s going to be over and there’s going to be peace in the whole world."
Ovechkin was asked at the time whether he supported Putin amid the invasion.
"He’s my president but … I’m not in politics," he said. "I’m an athlete and how I said, I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s a hard situation right now for both sides. … I'm not in control of the situation."
What the Washington Capitals said
Capitals spokesperson Sergey Kocharov provided the following statement to USA TODAY Sports
“Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and will live there following his retirement. 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.”
Alex Ovechkin's 2026-27 season
Ovechkin signed a bonus-laden deal for this season. He broke Wayne Gretzky's goal record in 2025 and has a chance for another this season.
Ovechkin trails Gretzky by 10 goals when it comes to combined regular season and playoff goals (1,116). Ovechkin has scored 929 goals in the regular season and 77 in the playoffs.
Contributing: Mark Giannotto
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Ovechkin on Russian political ad appearance: 'I support my country'
