Pastrnak deletes All-Star Weekend photo with Ovechkin from his Instagram

David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins has responded after fans in his home country of the Czech Republic (Czechia) kicked up a fuss over a photo. The backlash came after Pastrnak posted a few photos from the NHL's All-Star weekend. One of those photos showed him and Alexander Ovechkin posing on the ice together. That did not get a great response from fans in Czechia.

Caution: the screenshot below contains some very strong language

Russia's invasion of Ukraine obviously hits much closer to home for people in Czechia. While the two countries have had peaceful times in the past, the relationship between Russia and Czechia has been strained in recent years due to several factors, the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine included. With an end to the Russia-Ukraine war not in sight, the NHL had to postpone it's plans to hold the World Cup tournament in 2024, knowing that it could not conceivably have Russia participate as a country without major backlash from fans. On top of that, Ovechkin's friendship with Russian president Vladimir Putin has been well documented. It's an area the NHL has attempted to avoid as much as possible since the war began 11 months ago. Whether it can continue to do that remains to be seen.

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