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KHL president says Dynamo has a ‘moral right’ to Alex Ovechkin

Harrison Mooney

Last week, Dynamo Moscow team president Arkady Rotenberg stamped out rumours that his club would be courting former star Alex Ovechkin in the event of an NHL lockout. Ovechkin 'isn't necessary', he said to the media, and also Ovechkin's mother.

But Tuesday, KHL president Alexander Medvedev weighed in on the situation. Sure, maybe Ovechkin re-joining Dynamo isn't necessary, but dammit, it's the right thing to do. From R-Sport:

Medvedev insisted that Dynamo should have first refusal on the 26-year-old wing in the event of a lockout, despite reported interest from big-spending CSKA Moscow, Medvedev said.

"Of course there's a formal bureaucratic side which can be disputed sometimes, but there's also a moral-ethical side," Medvedev said.

"I don't think anyone will dispute the moral rights of Dynamo to the player Alexander Ovechkin."

You heard correct. Dynamo has an ethical right to Alex Ovechkin. He's like life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. (That is, unless bureaucracy gets involved, and five seasons of The Wire tells me bureaucracy does have a tendency to blur the ethical line.)

But Dynamo doesn't want Ovechkin, right? Rotenberg said he would bring no prestige to the team.

Of course, it's possible that Rotenberg's blustery disinterest in Ovechkin was based on what it would cost to outbid CSKA. Basically, there were some distinct obstacles in the way anyhow. Perhaps Rotenberg said his club had no interest in reaching at all out of pride?

But if the league is willing to enforce morality's triumph over money, as Medvedev seems to be indicating they might, then CSKA's deep pockets might not be an issue.

If the NHL locks out, will Dynamo backtrack and attempt to exercise their ethical right to Alex Ovechkin?