OTTAWA, Ontario – Evgeni Malkin doesn’t consider himself Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “right-hand man,” but he does support Putin, something that came to light Sunday on one of Malkin’s Instagram posts.
Addressing his joining of “Putin Team” for the first time following Thursday’s 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, Malkin said that it’s a “tough time right now” in Russia and he wants Putin to know that a few athletes based in North America support him.
The “Putin Team” movement was started by Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.
“We want him to understand that we support him,” Malkin said of Putin.