About two miles from the United Nations, where Russia’s war in Ukraine takes center stage, the Madison Square Garden crowd chanted the name of goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the dying moments of a playoff win.
Similar scenes unfolded in the Capital during the first round of playoffs when Washington Capitals fans cheered on longtime captain Alex Ovechkin with chants of “Ovi! Ovi! »
Ovechkin has long been associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the instigator of the invasion.
The National Hockey League playoffs have inadvertently become a crossroads of sport and politics, with Russians playing on North American rinks against the backdrop of Europe’s biggest military conflict since World War II. While their compatriots in several sports, from soccer to tennis, have been banned from competitions, the Russians in the NHL have continued to play while keeping a low profile off the ice.
“Everyone is doing their best under incredibly trying circumstances,” commissioner Gary Bettman told The Associated Press in a recent interview. Our players play for their NHL teams, no matter where they come from. At this precise moment, Russian players are in an impossible situation. »
A total of 56 Russians played in the NHL during the regular season, about 5% of the total number of players, of which 29 made the playoffs, or just under 8%. Some rank among the best in the sport, from contributions from Shesterkin guiding the New York Rangers to the second round to Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy helping the Lightning advance to a fourth Eastern Conference Finals in five years. and aiming for a third straight Stanley Cup.
The NHL has never seriously considered, like Wimbledon, a ban on players from Russia and Belarus, which has offered to help. She issued a statement condemning the war, ended business operations and partnerships in Russia, and stopped posting on social and digital media sites in Russian.
Delicate situation
Players born there — whether in the days of the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation — have continued to play since Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine on February 24. The NHL expressed concern for the well-being of the Russian players, adding, “We understand that they and their families are placed in an extremely difficult position. »
“It’s a quagmire and there’s no easy way out,” said Stefan Szymanski, professor of sports management at the University of Michigan. The clearest answers are to say, “’We won’t ban any athletes’ or ‘We’re just going to ban all athletes’”, and anything in between will be caught in those gray areas. »
Russian gamers have essentially kept quiet about what Putin touted as a “special military operation,” which can result in jail time in Russia for anyone calling it a war. Ovechkin, who campaigned for Putin in 2017, appealed for peace, Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov posted ‘NO WAR’ on Instagram and Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov described the situation as “difficult”.
Agent Dan Milstein, a Ukrainian native who represents 14 Russian NHL contract players, including Kucherov and Vasilevskiy, told the AP in March that talking about the war in any way was very tricky because family members back home. He and several other NHL Players’ Association-certified agents who have Russian clients have since declined to comment or did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Russia’s top players largely try to stay out of the debate while focusing on their jobs at the most important time of the year. The on-ice successes are unmistakable, as the Russians have scored 41 goals — 9% of the playoff total — and earned 21 of 72 wins for the goaltenders heading into Monday’s game between Game 7 of the Rangers-Hurricanes series. , Monday.
“When you play, you forget everything,” Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin said. It’s the best time to jump on the ice and do what you’ve been doing all your life. »
A means of propaganda
Whether they should be on the ice while their country is at war within a neighbor’s borders has become a matter of debate among the hockey community. Retired goaltender and Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek, a Czech, called on the NHL to suspend the contracts of all Russian players and mentioned that the public participation of Russian athletes is “a huge advertisement for the Russian country. and his actions. »
Szymanski sees the Olympic truce in ancient Greece as an argument for a general ban on Russian athletes.
“Citizens of countries involved in war cannot participate in sport,” he said. It’s meant to be a celebration of the human spirit, not a means of indirectly waging war. »
This of course includes sport as a form of nationalist propaganda and achievement, the most telling example being the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Brendan Dwyer, director of research and distance education at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Sport Leadership, said any bans on Russian hockey players would be a blow to the Kremlin.
“Putin puts these athletes on a pedestal more than football, more than tennis,” Dwyer noted. The only thing I keep saying is how important exercise is for this diet. It goes back beyond this regime, to communism, in general, and to the USSR and how they use sport as a way to show their power internationally and hockey more than any other sport. »
Russia, however, lost the organization of events.
The NHL has stopped considering hosting future games there, and the International Ice Hockey Federation has banned players from the Russian and Belarusian national teams from its competitions. The IIHF also stripped Russia from hosting the 2023 World Junior Tournament and Men’s World Championship while Sweden said anyone who plays in the Russia-based KHL would not be eligible to play for their national team.
Still, the NHL continues to import Russian talent, like the Nashville Predators who signed top goalie prospect Yarsolav Askarov. Or the Philadelphia Flyers who signed goaltender Ivan Fedotov after helping the “ROC” (Russian Olympic Committee) team secure a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics when Russia weren’t allowed to compete under his own flag due to anti-doping sanctions in several sports.
Bettman revealed that the league in no way hides or downplays the Russians’ performances, whether it’s Ovechkin chasing Wayne Gretzky’s career scoring record or players like Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild standing out. in the playoffs.
“Their performances are celebrated, just like Alex who is on his way to immortality. We celebrate that, and we celebrate every player’s accomplishments because they play in the NHL for their NHL team and for the NHL fans.
Szymanski drew parallels with South Africa during apartheid when national teams were banned, while individual tennis and golf athletes were allowed to continue participating in their sports. He and Dwyer agree there are no easy answers to dealing with this situation, especially for a league like the NHL that has thrived on the infusion of Russian talent over the past few decades.
“I don’t know if there’s a better way to get through it,” Dwyer said. It’s a very, very complicated situation. »