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Former NHL star Dominik Hasek took issue Saturday with the league allowing Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin’s son to skate on the ice at the All-Star Game over the weekend.
Hasek tweeted a picture of Ovechkin’s 4-year-old son, Sergei, skating on the ice at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, and trying to put a shot past Roberto Luongo, who was in the goal. The former Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings star wrote the NHL “sunk to rock bottom.”
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Red Wings hockey goalie Dominik Hasek announces his retirement during a news conference in Detroit, Michigan, June 9, 2008.
(Reuters/Rebecca Cook)
“Letting Ovechkin’s son perform on the ice at the NHL All-Star is spitting in the face of approximately 500 killed, thousands injured and tens of thousands of kidnapped Ukrainian children,” he tweeted. “The NHL and Gary Bettman must pay for this heinous act!”
The NHL didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Ovechkin, his son and Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby skated together on Friday night during the skills event.
“It was very cool. Everybody enjoyed it. Obviously, Sergei was always smiling,” Ovechkin said afterward, via ESPN. “That’s a special moment. It’s great for the game and great for both of us. And for Sergei as well.”
Former Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo attempts to stop a shot on goal by Sergei Ovechkin, 4, son of Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, during the NHL All Star Skills Showcase,Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Sunrise, Florida.
(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
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Ovechkin is only 82 goals away from breaking the mark set by Wayne Gretzky.
Hasek’s stance stemmed from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022. The Capitals star had been walking a tightrope over making remarks about the war. He said last year the situation was hard” because he had friends in both Russia and Ukraine.
“Please, no more war,” Ovechkin said on Feb. 25, 2022. “It doesn’t matter who is in the war – Russia, Ukraine, different countries – I think we live in a world, like, we have to live in peace and a great world.”
Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin stands on the ice during the NHL All Star Skills Showcase, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Sunrise, Florida.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Hasek called on the NHL to suspend Russian players last year over the war.
The former NHL goaltender is from Czech Republic. He was a six-time NHL All-Star and Vezina Award winner. He won two Stanley Cups during his career.
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He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
