After being ousted from the NHL and joining the KHL, Brendan Leipsic has been granted citizenship by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Leipsic, originally from Winnipeg, and U.S. boxer Kevin Johnson, received Russian citizenship under a decree published on a Russian government website, according to Reuters.
Putin’s decision to grant citizenship to Leipsic and Johnson is part of Russia’s pattern of offering citizenship to Western public figures. Russia has given citizenship to some celebrities who have requested it and publicly spoken out in support of the country, including U.S. actor Steven Seagal and French actor Gerard Depardieu, who have also received Russian citizenship.
Leipsic’s journey to Russian citizenship follows his exit from the NHL, where he faced backlash and was released by the Washington Capitals in 2020 after being involved in a scandal over inappropriate remarks about fellow players and women in a social media group chat.
An anonymous Instagram user made the chat, which was intended to remain private, public to inform the women they were being targeted.
The conversation involved players labelling women they’d slept with as “kills,” ridiculed their physical appearances, and included claims about Leipsic’s cocaine use. It also contained derogatory remarks about the wife of Vancouver Canucks’ Tanner Pearson and the girlfriend of Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid, as well as criticisms of Washington teammates Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway for excluding Leipsic from their podcast.
“It’s very heartbreaking to see,” said Chloe Giesbrecht, a Winnipeg resident mentioned in the chat, according to the Toronto Sun. “You see hockey on TV, (players) signing sticks and taking photos, but what are they doing behind all of that? They’re supposed to be role models, and this is the exact opposite … of what you would want your son to be like.”
Prior to his exit, Leipsic was in his third full season of playing in the NHL. The Nashville Predators drafted Leipsic and later traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Las Vegas Golden Knights claimed him in the 2017 expansion draft. He was then traded to the Vancouver Canucks, followed by being claimed by the Los Angeles Kings on waivers. The Kings did not resign him; instead, the Washington Capitals signed him for $700,000.
After leaving the NHL, Leipsic joined the KHL, playing for HC CSKA Moscow and Metallurg Magnitogorsk before signing a two-year deal with SKA Saint Petersburg last June.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine remains ongoing. In September 2023, Canada had committed more than $9.5 billion in multifaceted assistance to Ukraine, $2.4 billion being towards military aid.
