Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin skates after an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

OTTAWA — Liberal MPs are condemning a pro hockey player's support for the Putin regime — but are stopping short of calling for him to be banned from Canada.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is calling on Ottawa to sanction and ban Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin for appearing in a commercial for a party aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ovechkin appeared in a television ad standing behind Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as Lavrovvowed "no mercy" for those who attack Russia.

"If you can look at what's going on in Ukraine right now, and turn a blind eye to the atrocities being committed by the Putin regime, then you are at best wilfully blind," Justice Minister Sean Fraser told reporters Friday.

The UCC is repeating calls from 2022 for Ovechkin to be banned for supporting Putin, who attacked in Ukraine in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.

"Ovechkin is campaigning for United Russia — a party of war criminals who abduct Ukrainian children and murder Ukrainian civilians," the UCC wrote on social media.

"The Government of Canada should sanction and bar entry of Ovechkin, a disgusting supporter of Russia’s genocidal war against Ukraine."

Fraser said it's not up to him to decide whether Canada will impose sanctions or an entry ban on Ovechkin.

"I'll leave the formal process to play out, when it comes to policy decisions taken by some of my colleagues," Fraser said.

"We're not talking about fly-by-night principles. We are talking about the big stuff, territorial integrity, sovereignty of nations, self-determination."

Decisions about imposing sanctions or entry bans are made at the cabinet level. Sanctions are normally handled by Global Affairs Canada while the Immigration Department oversees entry bans.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon also would not weigh in on the idea of sanctions.

"I'm not fond of mixing sports and culture and entertainment with political matters, but it's pretty clear that Mr. Ovechkin's actions will give a lot of discomfort to many hockey fans," he said.

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon was more succinct.

"I'm not talking about sports," he told reporters.

Ovechkin said this week he wants peace and did not hesitate to participate in the ad when officials asked him to be part of it.

"I’m Russian and I support my country," Ovechkin said Thursday.

"I’m for peace and love, and I hope in the world it doesn’t matter who you are, I hope everybody understands everybody wants peace, and everybody hopes everything’s going to be OK in the world."

Ovechkin voiced support for the Russian president in 2017 when he started a social movement called the “Putin Team.”

“I just support my country," he said at the time.

When asked to react to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ovechkin said, “Please, no more war." When asked about his relationship with Putin, Ovechkin said, “He’s my president, but I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete.”

That type of response has never satisfied some of Ovechkin’s most vocal critics, including hockey players from eastern and Central Europe.

On Thursday, the foreign affairs minister in Latvia announced Ovechkin’s inclusion on a list of “personae non gratae” and barred him from entering the country — a NATO member sharing a border with Russia.

Ovechkin’s defenders have wondered aloud how safe it would be for him to criticize Putin and the Russian government. He has said he intends to live in Russia in the future.

“I’m going to stay there. I’m going to live there, my kids are going to live there, family. So I’m for peace and love, and I hope everything’s going to be OK,” said Ovechkin. "My home is Russia. D.C. is my second home."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.

—With files from The Associated Press

News from © The Canadian Press, 2026