NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than two dozen Ukrainian-American and Ukrainian-Canadian groups called on the NHL to reject any collaboration with the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, after talks between U.S President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin said last month that Trump supported Putin’s idea of hosting hockey games between professional American and Russian players, after Russia was frozen out of the sport’s international events following its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin’s plan would see games take place in the U.S. and Russia.
Groups including Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit that sends non-military assistance to the country, urged NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to reject any such collaboration in an open letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
“Were such matches to take place, they would be an affront to millions of American and Canadian NHL fans and to people of Ukrainian descent in both countries,” the letter read.
“We urge you to express prompt, public, and unequivocal opposition to this suggestion.”
An NHL spokesperson said the league was not part of the original conversation and that it was not aware of any further discussions on the topic.
The KHL, which includes 20 teams in Russia, as well as one each from Belarus, Kazakhstan and China, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russian Alex Ovechkin on Sunday broke a record once regarded as untouchable with his 895th career NHL goal.
Ovechkin, a long-time supporter of Putin, was hailed as a “legendary master” of hockey by the Russian leader after surpassing the mark set by Wayne Gretzky.
“Without a doubt, this achievement has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad,” Putin said in a statement.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
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