Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL condemns Ukraine invasion, says Russian players in “extremely difficult position”

Officials with the National Hockey League issued a statement condemning the invasion of Ukraine and acknowledging Russian players and their families “are being placed in an extremely difficult position.”

Here’s the statement in full:

“The National Hockey League condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urges a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible. Effective immediately, we are suspending our relationships with our business partners in Russia and we are pausing our Russian language social and digital media sites. In addition, we are discontinuing any consideration of Russia as a location for any future competitions involving the NHL.

We also remain concerned about the well-being of the players from Russia, who play in the NHL on behalf of their NHL Clubs, and not on behalf of Russia. We understand they and their families are being placed in an extremely difficult position.”