It would certainly be fun if the scene around Ovechkin’s locker post-game turned into him routinely sparring with members of the White House press corps.

Ovechkin ‘social movement’ is ‘just what I think’

Alex Ovechkin decided not to stick to sports in a very Alex Ovechkin way.

The 32- year- old Russian has always played hockey with utter disregard f or nuance or subtlety. He barrels around the ice, crashes into people with abandon and shoots from all over the place.

That seems to be about the same manner in which he has inserted himself into Russian — and by extension, American — politics by posting a message on his Instagram account on Thursday night that said he was starting a “social movement” called Putin Team.

“I’m confident that there’s a l ot of us who support Vladimir Putin,” Ovechkin’s account said. “So let’s come together and show everyone a strong and unified Russia!”

Shooters shoot, as they say.

Al most i mmediately, though, Ovechkin, a leftwinger by position if not by politics, started to walk back the meaning of his, well, whatever it is Putin Team is supposed to be.

“I just support my countr y, you know?,” he said Thursday night. “It’s not about I try to make a statement, like politic stuff,” he said. “It’s just what I think and I support.”

The definitive early line on the subject came from The Associated Press’s Mos- cow bureau, which noted that Ovechkin “hasn’t said what exactly the movement will do or how it will be organized.”

That would seem to be the key factor in considering whether any of this will matter. Ovechkin, the greatest Russian goal scorer in NHL history, has always been polarizing, but only because he has spent 12 years as the best player on a Washington Capitals team that is generally very good in the regular season and generally terrible in the playoffs. Ovechkin has worn a lot of that failure himself, and you could grab three random hockey fans and probably generate a decent debate about the Capitals and their sniper, and how much of the blame he deserves for their string of spring exits.

But Ovechkin has never been particularly controversial in his opinions. He’s blunt and outspoken, yes, but in a goofy- kid way. He’s the guy who, several years ago at an NHL All- Star Game, took a photo of Phil Kessel, then with the Maple Leafs and the last player to get picked for one of the teams, sitting alone among a sea of empty chairs and captioned it “HAHAHAHA” on his Twitter account. He’s the guy who signed a US$ 124million contract with the Capitals and then had his parents move into his home because he liked his mother’s cooking. He’s the guy who swore up and down that he was going to play for Russia at the 2018 Olympics even if the NHL decided against sending its players to South Korea and then discovered, belatedly, that he would be putting himself at great financial risk if he did so. ( Ovechkin has since said he will not be going to the Olympics.)

All of which is to say it’s a little hard to imagine that guy suddenly veering into spirited and thoughtful discussion about Russian politics. What’s his position on the fact that the former dir- ector of the FBI said there was clear evidence that the Kremlin attempted to influence the 2016 U. S. election? What are his thoughts on Russian incursion into the territory of its Ukrainian neighbours? What are his concerns with Vladimir Putin’s policy toward Syria?

I would bet we will not f i nd out. Don’ t get me wrong: it would certainly be fun if the scene around Ovechkin’s locker post-game turned into him routinely sparring with members of the White House press corps who have grown tired of being continually upbraided by the Trump administration. “Alex, talk about your game tonight. And, a follow up: have you ever met Paul Manafort?”

And it would similarly be interesting if more athletes decided to take positions on political matters, other than the sparring presently taking place between Trump and members of the NFL and NBA. One of the curious things we have learned in the anthem controversy is that there is a breed of sports fan who absolutely believes that athletes should have no opinion on issues of the day, or at least if they have one they should not express it publicly. For these people, the viewing experience of a sporting event is not to be tainted by the realization that the players might have thoughts beyond the field of play. Certainly a lot of athletes agree. Ovechkin’s founding of Putin Team does seem a long way from Michael Jordan’s infamous declaration that Republicans also buy sneakers.

But given Ovechkin’s explanation that his Instagram foray was intended to be more about supporting Russia than a specific endorsement of Putin’s policies — it was already well known that the men are quite friendly — that will probably be about the end of it. If famous Trump supporter Tom Brady can remain beloved in Massachusetts, which was 60 per cent in favour of Hillary Clinton, then Ovechkin can assert his Putin support and not expect the Capitals fan base to recoil in horror.

The next Russian election is scheduled for March 18, anyway. Putin Team will be but a memory by the time Ovechkin and the Capitals embark on another ( likely) tragic playoff run.

I JUST SUPPORT MY COUNTRY, YOU KNOW?

AL CHAREST / POSTMEDIA NEWS Outspoken Washington Capitals hockey sniper Alex Ovechkin has never been known to venture into “politic stuff,” but his call to create a “social movement” called Putin Team that would support a “strong Russia” is raising eyebrows.