Alex Ovechkin refuses to meet with the media or take questions on the situation in Ukraine

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin's presence was requested by the media at today's team media availability, presumably so he could be asked about the ongoing situation in Ukraine, but Ovechkin and the Capitals have denied the media request.

Capitals reporter Tarik El-Bashir reports that Ovechkin will take questions at some point, but is likely choosing his words wisely before taking questions. After all, Ovechkin has family back home in Russia that he needs to be mindful of. His words carry a lot of meaning and the sad fact of reality in Russia is that Ovechkin's words could harm his family back home.

As you might imagine, Ovechkin is taking some serious heat for dodging the media.

After all, this is a guy who has openly campaigned for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past and seems to welcome the idea of a re-unified Soviet Union. Oveckin even created a social movement called PutinTeam in 2017 that encouraged other athletes to lend their support for Putin ahead of Russian's 2018 Presidential elecdtion.

Here's what Ovechkin has had to say about Putin in the past:

"I never made a secret of my attitude toward our president, always openly supporting him. I am sure that there are many of us who support Vladimir Putin! So, let us come together and show everyone how strong and united Russia can be!"

- Alex Ovechkin, 2017

Honestly, I'd be curious to hear whether Ovechkin still shares the same sentiment. But, I completely understand that there are bigger implications at play here and that he needs to take his time to really get his thoughts together before making any kind of public statement. 

As is often the case these days in cases where nuance is required though... people on social media have removed nuance from the situation and are essentially calling for Ovechkin to be suspended for not speaking out.

I mean... check out some of these unhinged responses:

While criticism of Ovechkin is warranted, you can't be serious if you want the NHL to suspend all Russian players? C'mon now...