Alex Ovechkin has given up on his Olympic dream for 2018.
The Washington Capitals winger released a lengthy statement through the team on Thursday, saying he will not compete for Team Russia in the 2018 Games.
"I said every time I was asked since last Olympics that nobody is going to tell me I can't play because my country was going to be allowed to ask me," Ovechkin wrote. "Now the IIHF and NHL say my country is not allowed to ask anybody in the NHL to play and there is nothing to talk about anymore.