The NHL postseason has inadvertently become an intersection of sports and politics, with Russians starring on North American ice against the backdrop of the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
, which aided in the invasion. It released a statement condemning the war, ended business operations and partnerships in Russia and stopped posting to Russian language social and digital media sites.
Russian players have been largely quiet about what Putin deemed a “special military operation,” which can carry a prison sentence back home for anyone who calls it a war. Ovechkin, who in 2017 campaigned for Putin, made a plea for peace, Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov posted the message “NO WAR” on Instagram and Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov called it a “hard situation.”
Whether they should be on the ice at all while their country wages war inside a neighbor’s borders became a subject of some debate in far corners of the hockey community. Retired Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek, a Czech, has called for the NHL to suspend the contracts of all Russian players and said the public participation of Russian athletes is “a huge advertisement for the Russian country and its actions.
“Putin puts these athletes on a pedestal more than soccer, more than tennis,” Dwyer said. “The one thing I continue to say is how important sports are for this regime. It goes back beyond this regime to communism, in general, and the USSR and the way they utilize sport as a way to show power internationally and hockey more so than any other sport.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine, Russia Battle in the East as Zelenskyy Visits FrontRussian and Ukrainian troops are trading blows in fierce close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city. Local officials reported Russian forces “storming” the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on Sunday, a situation that the Ukrainian president described as “indescribably difficult.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 90% of the buildings in Sievierodonetsk have been damaged. The city has emerged as an epicenter of Russia’s quest to conquer Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where constant shelling was reported. Zelenskyy himself made a rare frontline visit to soldiers in Kharkiv. He declared “I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraine’s freedom.”
Read more »
Map timelapse shows where Russia has lost ground in UkraineThe United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has put out daily maps and intelligence briefings on the Russian invasion of Ukraine since it began in late February.
Read more »
Russia Takes Small Cities, Aims to Widen East Ukraine BattleRussia claims to have overrun a key rail hub in Ukraine while its troops fight defenders in the streets of another eastern city.
Read more »
Russia takes small cities, aims to widen east Ukraine battleRussia claimed to have overrun a key rail hub while its troops fought Ukrainian defenders in the streets of another city in eastern Ukraine.
Read more »
Russia takes small cities, aims to widen east Ukraine battleRussia asserted Saturday that its troops and separatist fighters had captured a key railway junction in eastern Ukraine, the second small city to fall to Moscow’s forces this week as they fought to seize all of the country’s contested Donbas region.
Read more »