LOVERRO: Ovechkin gets pass on his pal Putin while Gretzky gets barbecued for friendship with Trump

OPINION:

Alex Ovechkin’s quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal-scoring record connects the two men as hockey icons — the game’s greatest scorers.

But they are also connected in a unique way that few athletes worldwide have rarely experienced — both are powerful political symbols for their respective countries. 

Ovechkin, who is Russian, and Gretzky, who is Canadian, have inevitably been drawn into the international drama surrounding their home countries, the U.S. and President Trump.

The Washington Capitals star is just eight goals away, with 887 goals, from breaking Gretzky’s long-time career mark of 894, with 14 games left in the regular season. 

At 39 years old, in his 20th season — a season interrupted by a broken leg and 16 missed games — Ovechkin has scored 34 goals and is on pace to break the record before the end of this season.

The NHL is preparing for that historic moment as if the league has no concerns about the political baggage that comes with Ovechkin, who has long been an unwavering supporter of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

In 2017, Ovechkin openly campaigned on behalf of Putin in the Russian farce of elections by starting a social media movement called Putin Team, writing, “I never made a secret of my attitude toward our president, always openly supporting him.”

On his Instagram profile, Ovechkin posted a photo of him with Putin.

There have long been rumblings of discontent when it comes to Ovechkin’s open support of the Russian strongman. The rancor reached a crescendo when Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, when much of the world noticed the Ovechkin-Putin lovefest photo still posted on his Instagram account.

For once, Ovechkin was not so gushing in his support of Putin. 

“Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who is in the war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries — we have to live in peace,” Ovechkin told reporters as questions about his politics heated up.

He had little to say after that — but the photo remained on his Instagram account as news of the atrocities inflicted on Ukraine emerged. That spoke volumes.

The photo on Ovechkin’s social media account celebrating Putin is still there.

And the NHL had concerns going into this season about how a celebration of Ovechkin closing in on Gretzky’s record would be received.

They chose to move forward with the league’s full support of the spotlight on Ovechkin.

“It’s on the top of our list in terms of potential events that we want to promote and make sure we don’t let it slip under the radar screen,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in September, during the NHL/NFLPA Player Media Tour, according to The Hockey News.

“Some people kind of suggested, because Alex is Russian, that somehow this should be marginalized in some way,” Daly said. “We couldn’t disagree more. … He’s done a lot to lift the tide for the league and for all players during his tenure there. So it’s something definitely we want to celebrate.”

Celebrate they will, as the record-breaking moment draws closer. There has been little, if any, pushback against Ovechkin for his support of Putin, even as the Russian invasion of Ukraine became more of a hot-button issue of late.

Celebrating with the league will be Gretzky, the record-holder himself who has said he plans to be in attendance when Ovechkin makes hockey history.

Fortunately for the Brantford, Ontario-born Gretzky, that game is unlikely to take place in Canada, where the four-time Stanley Cup winner who was once an undisputed national hero is increasingly vilified.

Gretzky, 64, has come under fire north of the border for his support of Trump. 

He has been a guest at Mar-a-Lago and has been seen wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. After the November election, Gretzky and his wife attended Trump’s inauguration in January.

That open support of the American president became an open wound for many Canadians after Trump launched his tariff war against the country and made inflammatory comments suggesting that Canada would be better off as America’s 51st state.

The tensions between Canada and the United States spilled out onto the ice at the recent 4 Nations international hockey tournament, when the first meeting between the two led to three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.

When they played again in the championship game in Boston, Gretzky was named honorary captain for the Canadians. He was urged by Canadian media to “portray himself as a pillar of national pride,” Macleans magazine wrote. “To borrow a sports analogy, Gretzky fumbled. He entered the rink near the U.S. bench, instead of the Canadian one, and gave the Americans a thumbs-up as he passed. He wore a blue suit that made him look more like a member of the U.S. coaching staff than Captain Canada.”

Globe and Mail columnist Cathal Kelly wrote Gretzky has been “coasting on fumes from the ’90s for years and years. Mr. Gretzky used to stand for only one thing — Canada. He hasn’t for a long time.”

A petition has been launched in Edmonton to rename the city’s Wayne Gretzky Drive. It currently has nearly 14,000 signatures.

It would be an ironically ugly scene if the Ovechkin record-breaking goal, with Gretzky as part of the celebration, took place in Canada and Gretzky, not Ovechkin, was a target of outrage. 

That likely won’t happen, since the Capitals’ last game in Canada is March 25 in Winnipeg against the Jets.

• Catch Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.