Former NHLer Brendan Leipsic Pens Letter to Putin with Special Request

PUBLICATION

TJ Tucker
July 11, 2023 (7:02 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Since being unceremoniously booted from the NHL after the contents of a private Instagram chat group were leaked, Brendan Leipsic has been playing in Russia, where he seems to fit in quite well. Now, according to reports out of that country, Leipsic wants to take his loyalty to Russia and the KHL a step further.

Roman Rotenberg, the Deputy Chair of the KHL, has announced that Leipsic has written a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he be granted Russian citizenship as soon as possible.

"Very soon there will be one more Russian citizen on our team. SKA newcomer Brendan Leipsic expressed his desire to take Russian citizenship and wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin."

Rotenberg presented Leipsic as a victim in the chat group scandal and said he hopes he will go on to play for the Russian national hockey team.

"It's no secret that in North America he faced bias and injustice, but in Russia he's felt exceptional support from fans, coaches and partners all these years. His favorite player is Alexander Ovechkin, and in Canada he grew up watching our great hockey players like Pavel Bure play. Perhaps Brendan himself will someday play in a Russian national team uniform."

Leipsic started his KHL career in 2020 with CSKA Moscow. He's spent the past two seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, but signed a two-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg at the end of 2022-23. Leipsic, who was born and raised in Winnipeg, stuck around in Russia even after a mass exodus of Canadian and American players due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Originally drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round (89th overall) in 2012, Leipsic would not play in the NHL until 2015-16 season following a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Left exposed during the 2017 expansion draft, he was taken from Toronto by the Vegas Golden Knights, but was traded to the Vancouver Canucks at the deadline in 2018. The following season, he was placed on waivers by the Canucks and picked up by the LA Kings. At the end of 2018-19, he was not given a qualifying offer by the Kings, making him a free agent. He then signed a one year deal with the Washington Capitals.

In May of 2020, leaked screenshots of a private Instagram chat group showed Leipsic making misogynistic comments towards women and their appearance, while calling his Washington fourth-line teammates Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway "losers." Leipsic issued an apology, but the Caps terminated his contract anyway. That's when he would head to Russia to continue his career.

Source: Sport24.ru