Relationship with Putin could cost Ovechkin millions

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Jay Tup
February 28, 2022 (11:15 PM)

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The NHL has taken a hard stance against Russia with their announcement today about suspending partnerships. Those suspensions could lead to a trickle down impact on some of the Russian players in the league. Most notably it could have a significant impact on Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin.

Today Rick Westhead of TSN shared the following information in regards to Ovechkin:

Wash Post columnist calls Ovechkin's public comments on Russian invasion of Ukraine "the height of disingenuousness."

Ovechkin still features a photo of Putin on his Instagram account and probably won't be thrilled over more reporting highlighting his ties to Russia's president.

There has been a lot of criticism of Ovechkin's response, especially because he still features Putin in his Instagram display photo. This relationship could cost The Great 8 significantly as Westhead revealed.

Alex Ovechkin makes much more $$ in off-ice endorsements than most NHLers. CCM Hockey alone pays him $500K+/yr, I'm told.
Hearing at least some of his corporate partners at a loss on how to move forward w him. May be complicated for companies to use Ovechkin in ads for some time.

It will be interesting to see the trickle down impact this ultimately has on the league and some of its major players like Ovechkin.