CCM Hockey announced Monday it will stop using Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin and other Russian NHL players in its global marketing initiatives amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We are very sad to witness, like the rest of the world, what is happening in Ukraine," CCM chief executive Marrouane Nabih wrote in an email to TSN's Rick Westhead. "Although Mr. Ovechkin is not responsible for the Russian government's actions, we took the decision to not use him (or any Russian player) on any global CCM communication at this point."
CCM pays Ovechkin over $500,000 per year plus a percentage of its sales within Russia, a source told Westhead. Though the company will no longer use Ovechkin or other R…
The Vancouver Canucks are one of four NHL teams whose training camp has been disrupted by COVID-19.
The Canucks cancelled their practice entirely on Sunday, citing “an abundance of caution.” That they returned to practice on Monday was a positive sign. Or, rather, it was a negative sign: everyone on the team tested negative for the coronavirus.
According to Canucks head coach Travis Green, the cancelled practice was due to a false positive for a player on a COVID-19 test. The players get tested every day when they arrive to the rink and one of those tests returned positive, causing the team to cancel practice while waiting for the results of a follow-up test.
“We wanted to dr…