Alex Ovechkin told R-Sport on Wednesday that "it was unpleasant to hear" that he would fail to raise the prestige of his KHL lockout team Dynamo Moscow, but he bears no grudge over the team president's outburst.
Ovechkin signed a lockout contract with his old KHL team Dynamo on Wednesday and has already participated in a training session with the team.
That despite the comments of team president Arkady Rotenberg, who said last month that in the event of an NHL lockout, signing the 26-year-old wing would be unnecessary and would bring "no prestige."
“It didn’t vex me that much, but it was unpleasant to hear,” the 27-year-old Washington Capitals star told R-Sport. “Every situation changes for better or worse, someone might have said something, someone might have translated something not too well, so I never take offence at such things.”
“I didn't like it when I read that the team doesn't need me," he acknowledged. "But now it’s in the past and I’m at Dynamo. ... I'm not one of those people who take offence.”
Ovechkin said he hasn’t yet decided what he will do if the lockout is resolved.
"It all depends on what the conditions will be in the NHL. Should we have contract cuts, I need to think whether to return or not," he said.
Ovechkin did not rule out the possibility of continuing his stay in the KHL beyond the current season.
“We’ll see, everything will be seen later,” he said.
Ovechkin could take to the ice for Dynamo as early as Thursday at home to Dynamo Minsk.
