Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk are both in the news now because of the NHL's decision to approve Kovalchuk's controversial 15-year contract. This prompted Toronto columnist Damian Cox to write this piece that threw Ovechkin's 13-year deal into the discussion, which in turn prompted this angry response from owner Ted Leonsis.
↵But while all this was going on, Ovechkin and Kovalchuk were staging a charity game back in Russia to support children devastated by this summer's wildfires in the country. The game featured some NHL stars, as well as several Russian politicians and dignitaries. The teams were as follows:
↵↵↵Ovechkin's team included famed Soviet goalie Vladimir Myshkin, Philadelphia Flyers winger Nikolai Zherdev, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, while on Kovalchuk's side were the legendary Soviet defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov, Czech goalie Dominik Hasek and center Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's economic adviser, Arkady Dvorkovich, and Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu.
↵
On paper, I like Kovalchuk's team better, but ultimately, Ovechkin's team led 9-7 in regulation before Kovalchuk's team tied the game at 13 in overtime. This proves, once again, that Ovechkin is the best. Clearly.
↵