OVECHKIN PREACHES PEACE AND LOVE FROM BEHIND THE GUY PROMISING NO MERCY

Alex Ovechkin turned 41 on Thursday and spent his birthday at Capitals media day explaining why he is standing in a television ad for United Russia, Vladimir Putin's party, directly behind Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov while Lavrov warns that anyone who comes at Russia "with a sword" should "expect no mercy." Ovechkin's explanation was that he's Russian, he supports his country, they asked him, he said yes, "so it's as simple as that." He also said he's for peace and love, which is an odd thing to announce from the back row of that particular commercial. He doesn't say a word in the ad. He just stands there, menacingly. The supporting cast does not help. Soviet hockey legend Viacheslav Fetisov is in it, and so is RT editor in chief Margarita Simonyan. Lavrov, the one actually talking, is sanctioned by the US, UK, EU and Canada, and the US Treasury named him one of the architects of the war. The voting runs September 18 to 20, with United Russia plus nine other parties that all back Putin's policies, and the only antiwar party barred from the ballot. Rep. Joe Wilson wrote Gary Bettman and Ted Leonsis calling it "incredibly alarming" and asked the league to clarify what rules, if any, cover active players appearing in propaganda for dictatorial parties. Dominik Hasek called it support for the war. Latvia declared Ovechkin persona non grata and barred him from entering. The NHL's most recent position dates to 2022, when it said Russian players compete for their clubs and not for Russia. The Capitals called him a pillar of the community and pivoted to the season.

Why you should give a shit: Latvia banned him from the country and the NHL is still quoting itself from 2022, so the working policy appears to be that 929 career goals buys you one free Kremlin commercial.