Vladimir Putin congratulates Alex Ovechkin for breaking Wayne Gretzkys NHL goals record

Russian President Vladimir Putin added his name to the list of those who have sent their congratulations to Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin for surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s greatest goal scorer. Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal in the NHL on Sunday during the second period of the Caps’ 4-1 loss to the Islanders on Long Island.The Russian autocrat said that Ovechkin’s record was “​​not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad.” “I congratulate you on your outstanding record.You have surpassed legendary masters in the number of goals scored in National Hockey League regular-season games,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Associated Press that Putin and Ovechkin had not spoken with one another yet while adding that the message congratulating the hockey star showed how Putin “highly values Ovechkin’s sporting result.”“I wish you health, good fortune [and] fighting spirit to conquer new heights in life and in sports,” Putin also said in his statement. Putin and Ovechkin have had a bond for a number of years now.

Ovechkin created “Putin Team” back in 2017 to show support for the Russian president, though he attempted to try and say that its creation had nothing to do with politics.Ovechkin has a photo of himself with Putin as his profile picture on Instagram. Ovechkin’s historic goal paused the game on Sunday as the player’s teammates rushed the ice in celebration as Gretzky watched from a suite at UBS Arena alongside Ovechkin’s family, FBI director Kash Patel and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “895’s pretty special,” Gretzky said during a ceremony at center ice after the goal.“… They say records are made to be broken, but I’m not sure who’s gonna score more goals than that.”...