Czech hall-of-fame goaltender Dominik Hašek has never been one to hide his opinions and has been relentless over the past few years in his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and those who support it – explicitly or implicitly – and influential Russian politicians have apparently taken notice.
Not surprisingly, he was heavily critical of Alexander Ovechkin and the NHL’s promotion of him in the lead-up to his breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career NHL goal record, tweeting on April 5 – the day before Ovechkin broke the record – that the NHL “bears enormous responsibility for the hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of people killed and maimed in the Russian war in Ukraine.”
According to Czech media, former Russian president and prime minister and Dmitri Medvedev, who is currently deputy chairman to the Russian security council, lashed out at Hašek in the aftermath of Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal in a social media post that Hašek has interpreted as a death threat.
“895 – the result of a great Russian player,” Medvedev reportedly posted on Telegram, adding: “P.S. We are waiting for the suicide of the crazy Czech Hašek.”
“Yes, I read that,” Hašek told Zdeněk Janda of iSport.cz when asked about Medvedev’s post. “This person is clearly publicly threatening me with murder.”
Hašek went on to criticize the Czech government and several other national and international organizations for failing to respond, and said that he planned to write a letter to the Czech Ministry of the Interior.
Dominik Hašek condemns Paris Olympics over participation of Russian athletesThe Opening Ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics take place on Friday in Paris. There will be no Russian or Belarusian athletes in the parade of nations and their respective National Olympic Committees have been banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war. However, 32 athletes from those countries will participate without flags in various sports during these Olympic Games as “Individual Neutral Athletes.”
“In essence, they are sending a message to the criminal Russian regime that Russia can continue making similar threats against citizens of other countries without the slightest problem,” he said.
In the past, Hašek has used the occasions of former Detroit Red Wings teammate Pavel Datsyuk’s hall-of-fame induction, the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and a pair of NHL regular-season games in Prague featuring the Buffalo Sabres to publicly express his opinions.
Hašek said that, despite his history of rattling feathers with his public comments, this is the first time that he’s felt personally threatened in response.
“No, I have never received them before – this was the first,” he said. “On the contrary, I feel a lot of support from both (Czech) people and people from other countries. It is mutual and I appreciate it very much.”
Dominik Hašek Again Speaks Out On X: Every NHL Goal, Assist, Save, Hit An “Advertisement For The Atrocities That The Russians Commit In The War!”On the eve of the start of the 2023-24 season between the New Jersey Devils and the team he spent the most significant part of his hall-of-fame career, the Buffalo Sabres, former goaltender Dominik Hašek made it clear that he won’t be in Prague – about an hour away from his hometown of Pardubice.