If Hasek’s argument is that the millions of dollars these Russian players make in the NHL should be sanctioned via the players themselves being suspended, I think that’s a legitimate argument. Make no mistake about it, these are highly paid Russian citizens. Their income gets put back into Russias economy.
I doubt Hasek meant it in order to discriminate against anyone, but rather to either stop millions flooding into Russia and/or as symbolic.
There are many wonderful people in Russia who are adamantly against what Putin is doing, and I’m sure Hasek knows that.