OTTAWA, Ontario – Evgeni Malkin doesn’t consider himself Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “right-hand man,” but he does support Putin, something that came to light Sunday on one of Malkin’s Instagram posts.
Addressing his joining of “Putin Team” for the first time following Thursday’s 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, Malkin said that it’s a “tough time right now” in Russia and he wants Putin to know that a few athletes based in North America support him.
The “Putin Team” movement was started by Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.
“We want him to understand that we support him,” Malkin said of Putin. “We play here. We’re far away, but we understand what’s going on. We try to be together. It’s not like me or [Ovechkin] are the right-hand [man] for Putin. We just try to offer our support because, in 2018, we have the World Cup in Russia; they have elections, too.
“It’s a tough year. We want to be together and support him.”
In explaining his thinking behind the post, which he later put on Twitter as well, Malkin said as much of joining it has to do with doping and the Olympics as politics.
“It’s a tough time right now about Olympics, what’s going on [with] doping,” Malkin said. “It’s a tough situation, I want to support not just the president, I want to support all athletics and support my country.”
Malkin said he knows “a couple guys close to Putin” but didn’t say they were best friends or anything like that. They’ve obviously met “a couple times.”
Being a Russian hockey player is different, Malkin admitted, because of Putin’s affinity for the sport.
“I have a great life,” Malkin said. “We play hockey together. It’s amazing. It’s a little bit different situation, because he loves hockey more. He plays hockey a lot, probably every week.”
Malkin also said he isn’t concerned with any blowback for his joining the “Putin Team.”
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Malkin said. “[Whether Americans] don’t like or like him. I’m not trying to read everything. I just want to support him.”
The last thing Malkin addressed was how bummed he’ll be to miss the 2018 Olympics.
Not because of anything Russia-related but because the NHL isn’t sending its players.
“All of us, it’s our dream,” Malkin said. “I’ve played three times. It’s the best time ever. Not just hockey players, you see skiers, everyone. Figure skaters, it’s amazing. You can talk with everyone. We stay in one village. It’s an amazing time. I think it’s good for everyone. It’s maybe my last chance. It’s tough to understand we’re not going.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: November 17, 2017, 4:39 a.m.
