Controversial former NHL forward granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin

It has been confirmed that former NHL and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Brendan Leipsic has been granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin.

The report was made at the same time as it was another that, along with the Canadian hockey player, U.S. boxer Kevin Johnson got approval for citizenship from President Vladimir Putin. Leipsic has reported requested his citizenship to Putin back in July.

Leipsic, who is a native of Winnipeg, was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 2012 NHL Draft. He spent a couple of seasons with the Maple Leafs starting in 2015, primarily as a member of the AHL Marlies and was called up for six NHL games. He traveled around the league, playing for the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, before signing his final NHL contract with the Washington Capitals in 2019-20.

He then left the NHL due to a controversial when the Caps dismissed him over misogynistic comments and inappropriate remarks about fellow players, including former line mates Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway. In private Instagram conversations that were exposed, Leipsic said hateful things about specific women, harsh descriptions of their appearance. He also called Dowd and Hathaway "losers". Some of the screenshots were re-posted across Twitter. The Capitals and Leipsic then issued a statement and an apology, but then the team let him go.

Ever since his departure from the NHL, Leipsic has been playing in Russia since then, first with HC CSKA Moscow and later Metallurg Magnitogorsk. His current deal, a two-year contract inked as a free agent last June, is with SKA Saint Petersburg, where he has collected four points in 14 games so far this year.

It looks like Leipsic isn’t eyeing a return to the NHL, where I doubt he would be welcomed back with open arms anyway, as he gets what he wanted in his Russian citizenship looking to establish himself there permanently.

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