Alex Ovechkin shouldn’t expect to play at the PyeongChang Olympics, Russia hockey federation boss Vladislav Tretiak reportedly said Wednesday.
Tretiak was quoted after reports earlier this month quoting NHL and IIHF officials saying that the two bodies would work together to not allow NHL players on Olympic rosters.
“What is there for Ovechkin to do now? Nothing. Play for Washington,” Tretiak said in Russian in an R-Sport article, according to a Washington Post translation. “He has to accept that.”
Ovechkin was once adamant that he would play in PyeongChang despite the NHL’s non-participation.