Massive controversy is taking over the conversation in Alex Ovechkin's 22nd NHL season

The Capitals dropped that hype post as training camp opened, framing this year like any other milestone chapter for their captain.

But the timing could not feel more disconnected from reality.

Just days earlier, Ovechkin appeared in a campaign video for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, standing near Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an ad tied to this weekend's parliamentary elections back home.

The clip spread fast, and so did the anger.

Ovechkin has weathered Putin questions for years, dating back to 2017 and again after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

He has always found a way to move past it, usually with a shrug and a line about loving his country.

This time the reaction has more teeth.

Fellow Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek called out everyone in the ad for effectively backing Russia's war.

A sitting congressman even suggested the NHL consider disciplinary action.

The Capitals tried to get ahead of it, saying Ovechkin was simply asked by his country to take part while he was home for the summer, but that explanation has not calmed anyone down.

Facing reporters for the first time since the ad surfaced, Ovechkin insisted he is not pro war and that his support is for his nation, not the conflict itself.

He said he wants peace for everyone, Russian, Ukrainian or American.

Critics are not buying the separation, and reporters covering the team say the story is only building.

With training camp underway and the elections in Russia happening this weekend, this is not fading quietly into the background of a farewell season.

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