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twinsfan -> RE: Wild 2021/2022 Season (3/4/2022 2:59:35 PM)
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This would be really bad news for the Wild.
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."
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.
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