Alex Ovechkin's family may be in danger.

The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been a hot button topic over the last few weeks and it has even become the focus of much discussion in the National Hockey League. At the center of a great deal of that discussion, fairly or unfairly, has been Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin, one of the most popular players in the sport, has become somewhat of a polarizing figure during this time due to his well documented history with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Up until the time of this writing, Ovechkin has failed, for one reason or another, to distance himself from the Russian president and this has made him the target of a great deal of public backlash.

On Friday however ESPN's Emily Kaplan revealed some new information that may drastically alter how many perceive the words and actions Ovechkin has engaged in over the last few weeks, information that I feel quite frankly paints Ovechkin's behavior in an entirely different light. Kaplan began by revealing that the comments already made by Ovechkin on the topic may have come at great personal risk for the Capitals captain.

 "Ovechkin spoke publicly spoke about the situation once and made a call for peace," said Kaplan. "I actually think it was interesting that Ovi specifically said 'I want no more war' and used the word war because what I've heard from other Russian's in the league is they are even tepid to even mention that word because of laws back home that could threaten jail time for treason and spreading false narratives."

Kaplan would go on to indicate that she believes Ovechkin's family may be in danger back home in Russia, something that may have thus far prevented him from speaking out any further against the ongoing conflict.

"He's facing pressure from all sides and I believe it," said Kaplan.

"I know a lot of people are wondering about that Instagram photo. It’s such a bad look. Why won’t he just take it down? They’ve asked him to deactivate his Instagram account and Ovi each time has told them if I do both of those, I really feel like that is a sign back home that I am speaking out against Putin. And I feel like my family is in danger. And the Washington Capitals have to respect that because that is how he feels. And again, we don’t understand a lot of these nuances and complexities back home."

It is not difficult to see how the Russian government, or even Vladimir Putin himself, could see Ovechkin removing photos of Putin from his social media accounts as an effort  to distance himself from the Russian president. Even worse those actions could be perceived as Ovechkin condemning the actions that the Russian government has undertaken in the Ukraine, and we can only guess as to what the consequences for Ovechkin's family could be in a such a scenario.

While it is easy to criticize Ovechkin for not removing the photographs of him and Putin from his social media, it is easier said than done if it would put his family in harm's way.