In the end, Alex Ovechkin had the final word on Olympic hockey. 645 of them, in fact. With two exclamation points.
“Our countries are now not allowed to ask us to play in the Olympics,” Ovechkin said in a statement posted by the Washington Capitals late Thursday night. “Me, my teammates and all players who want to go all lose. So do all the fans of hockey with this decision that we are not allowed to be invited. NHL players in the Olympics is good for hockey and good for Olympics. It sucks that will we not be there to play!