
Czech hall-of-fame goaltender Dominik Hašek has never been one to
hide his opinions and has been relentless over the past few years in
his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and those who
support it – explicitly or implicitly – and influential Russian
politicians have apparently taken notice.
Not
surprisingly,
he
was heavily critical of Alexander Ovechkin and the NHL’s promotion
of him in the lead-up to his breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career NHL
goal record,
tweeting on April 5 – the day before Ovechkin broke the record
– that the NHL “bears enormous responsibility for the hundreds of
thousands (maybe millions) of people killed and maimed in the Russian
war in Ukraine.”
According
to Czech media, former Russian president and prime minister and
Dmitri Medvedev, who
is currently deputy chairman to the Russian security council,
lashed out at Hašek in the aftermath of Ovechkin’s
record-breaking goal in a social media post that Hašek has
interpreted as a death threat.
“895
– the result of a great Russian player,” Medvedev reportedly
posted on Telegram, adding: “P.S. We are waiting for the suicide of
the crazy Czech Hašek.”
“Yes, I read
that,” Hašek
told Zdeněk Janda of
iSport.cz
when asked about Medvedev’s post. “This person is clearly
publicly threatening me with murder.”
Hašek went on to
criticize the Czech government and several other national and
international organizations for failing to respond, and said that he
planned to write a letter to the Czech Ministry of the Interior.
“In essence, they
are sending a message to the criminal Russian regime that Russia can
continue making similar threats against citizens of other countries
without the slightest problem,” he said.
In the
past, Hašek has used the occasions of former Detroit
Red Wings teammate Pavel Datsyuk’s
hall-of-fame induction, the
opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and a
pair
of NHL regular-season games in Prague featuring the Buffalo
Sabres to publicly express his opinions.
Hašek
said that, despite his history of rattling
feathers with his public comments, this is the first time that he’s
felt personally threatened in response.
“No, I have never
received them before – this was the
first,” he said.
“On the contrary, I feel a lot of support from both
(Czech) people
and people from other countries. It is mutual and I appreciate it
very much.”
Dominik Hašek Again Speaks Out On X: Every NHL Goal, Assist, Save, Hit An “Advertisement For The Atrocities That The Russians Commit In The War!”On the eve of the start of the 2023-24 season between the New Jersey Devils and the team he spent the most significant part of his hall-of-fame career, the Buffalo Sabres, former goaltender Dominik Hašek made it clear that he won’t be in Prague – about an hour away from his hometown of Pardubice.
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