Berliner Tageszeitung - Hasek slams Ovechkin over Putin, calls for Russia NHL ban

The 57-year-old Hall-of-Famer's demand came in a series of tweets which lambasted Russian legend Alex Ovechkin for comments regarding the Ukraine crisis on Friday.

Hasek, regarded as one of the greatest goaltenders ever to play ice hockey, took aim at Ovechkin's failure to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin in his remarks, branding him an "alibist" and "chicken shit."

"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 wrote.

"The NHL must immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players! Every athlete represents not only himself and his club, but also his country and its values and actions.

"That is a fact. If the NHL does not do so, it has indirect co-responsibility for the dead in Ukraine."

Hasek added that even Russian players who condemned Putin should be suspended.

"I also want to write, that I am very sorry for those Russian athletes, who condemn Putin and his Russian aggression in Ukraine. However, at the moment I also consider their exclusion a necessity," he wrote.

In his remarks on Friday, Ovechkin called for a halt to fighting in Ukraine.

"Please, no more war," Ovechkin said. "It doesn't matter who is in the war -- Russia, Ukraine, different countries -- I think we have to live in peace and a great world."

However he stopped short of condemning Putin. Asked if his support for the Russian leader was still strong following the invasion, he said: "Well, he is my president.

"But how I said, I am not in politics. I am an athlete and I hope everything is going to be done soon.

"I'm Russian. It's something I can't control. It's not in my hands. I hope it's going to end soon."

F. Schulze--BTZ