money Dominik Hasek calls Alex Ovechkin a 'chicken (expletive),' wants NHL to suspend all Russians
Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek has called for the NHL to "immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players" amidst Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine.
The 57-year-old Czech also had some choice words for Washington Capitals' Russian-born star Alex Ovechkin, a supporter of President Vladimir Putin.
Hasek, who played in the NHL for 16-seasons and is widely considered one of the best goaltenders of all time, called Ovechkin an "alibist," a "liar" and a "chicken (expletive)" after Ovechkin failed to publicly denounce Putin and his country's aggression.
"Every adult in Europe knows well, that Putin is a mad killer and that Russia is waging an offensive war against the free country and its people," Hasek, 57, tweeted Saturday.
A day earlier, Ovechkin was asked whether he supports Putin amid the invasion.
"He’s my president but … I’m not in politics," Ovechkin told reporters on Friday. "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."
ALEX OVECHKIN: NHL star and past Putin supporter calls for peace, says Ukraine invasion is 'hard situation'
The NHL must immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players! Every athlete represents not only himself and his club, but also his country and its values and actions. That is a fact. If the NHL does not do so, it has indirect co-responsibility for the dead in Ukraine.
— Dominik Hasek (@hasek_dominik) February 26, 2022
Although Ovechkin said it's "it’s hard to see the war," Hasek said Ovechkin and other complicit Russian players should be "immediately suspend(ed)" from the league.
"Every athlete represents not only himself and his club, but also his country and its values and actions. That is a fact," Hasek tweeted. "If the NHL does not do so, it has indirect co-responsibility for the dead in Ukraine."
Hasek acknowledged that a sweeping suspension on Russian NHL players would unfortunately include those who "condemn V. Putin and his Russian aggression in Ukraine. However, at the moment I also consider their exclusion a necessity."
"I am very sorry for those Russian athletes," Hasek added.
MORE: Jokerit Helsinki, a Finnish hockey team, pulls out of KHL playoffs due to Russia's invasion
MORE: Poland, Sweden refuse to play Russia in 2022 World Cup qualifying playoff after invasion of Ukraine
Ovechkin had started a social movement supporting Putin ahead of the 2017 Russian presidential election, and a photo of the two of them is the winger's profile picture on Instagram.
On Friday, Ovechkin said he hoped there soon would be peace.
"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 on Friday. "I hope soon it’s going to be over and there’s going to be peace in the whole world."
Ovechkin's wife, children and other family members are in Russia, so he has been following the situation. He said it was too early for him to decide whether his family would stay there.
"I don't want to see nobody get hurt, nobody get killed," he said of the war. "I hope it’s going to be over and we’re going to live in a good world."
He continued: "Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who’s in a war. Russia, Ukraine, different countries. I think we live in a world, like, we have to live in peace and a great world."
Contributing: Mike Brehm
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dominik Hasek curses Alex Ovechkin, wants NHL to suspend all Russians
