In the months leading up to a prisoner exchange for American journalist Evan Gershkovic and former marine Paul Whelan in August 2024, the Biden administration reportedly considered expelling all Russian hockey players from the US to pressure Russia for their release.<\/p>\n
An expos\u00e9 published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday<\/a> revealed White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan weighed the option of leaning on Russian president Vladimir Putin, a noted hockey fan, by removing some of the NHL\u2019s biggest stars, rather than ask US ally Germany to release a Russian hitman serving life in prison.<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration needed to explore alternative trades that wouldn\u2019t include the murderer or other ways to pressure the Kremlin,\u201d the reporting reads. \u201cSullivan had considered punishing Putin by expelling Russian hockey players in America, including Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL star chasing Wayne Gretzky\u2019s all-time scoring record. He decided against it.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Sullivan and the administration went forward with a 24-man prisoner exchange that included the hitman. Per the BBC<\/a>, the exchange was the largest such swap since the Cold War.<\/p>\n The potential ban on Russian players would\u2019ve seen Ovechkin forced to leave the country ahead of the 2024-25 season, indefinitely halting his chase for Gretzky with his career total at 853 goals.<\/p>\n Ovechkin\u2019s longstanding acquaintance<\/a> with Putin has garnered plenty of controversy, especially since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He spoke on the conflict that same year<\/a>, calling for peace without condemning Putin\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Russian, right? Sometimes something I can\u2019t control. It\u2019s not in my hands. I hope it\u2019s going to end soon and it\u2019s going to be peace in both countries. I don\u2019t control this one,\u201d he said then. \u201cHe\u2019s my president. But I\u2019m not in politics, I\u2019m an athlete. I hope everything is gonna be done soon. It\u2019s [a] sad situation right now for both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n