Connor McDavid isn鈥檛 a fan of the NHL鈥檚 new policy on themed warmup jerseys.
The league decided last week teams won鈥檛 wear special pre-game threads next season 鈥� the result of a handful of players refusing to sport rainbow-coloured Pride jerseys in 2022-23, which in turn caused unwelcome distractions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing to see,鈥� McDavid, the face of the NHL and the superstar captain of the Edmonton Oilers, said at Monday night鈥檚 awards ceremony.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not my call, but obviously it鈥檚 disappointing.鈥�
The league鈥檚 board of governors agreed with commissioner Gary Bettman鈥檚 view that the jersey refusals overshadowed teams鈥� efforts in hosting Pride nights.
All 32 franchises held a Pride or 鈥淗ockey is for Everyone鈥� night in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
鈥淚 certainly can鈥檛 speak for every organization,鈥� said McDavid, who won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. 鈥淚 know in Edmonton, we were one of the first teams to use the Pride tape.
鈥淲e strongly feel hockey is for everybody, and that includes the Pride nights.鈥�
Teams will still celebrate Pride and other theme nights, including military appreciation and Hockey Fights Cancer. Clubs are also expected to continue designing and producing jerseys to be autographed and sold to raise money, even though players won鈥檛 wear them during warmups.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said it was disappointing that the story this season was the few players who decided against wearing Pride jerseys.
鈥淚t was 98 per cent or 99 per cent of other players that wore the jersey and enjoyed wearing it and were proud wearing it 鈥� whatever jersey it was 鈥� whether it was the Pride, the military night, the cancer nights,鈥� said Stamkos, who won the Mark Messier Leadership Award. 鈥淭he story shouldn鈥檛 be about the guy that didn鈥檛 wear it 鈥� the one guy or the two guys.
鈥淚 understand that鈥檚 what gets the clicks and that鈥檚 what gets the views, but the word 鈥榙istraction鈥� gets thrown around. I don鈥檛 think it had to have been a distraction. It could have been a non-issue while focusing on the good that was coming out of those nights.鈥�
Bettman defended the league and teams鈥� handling of the situations at NHL all-star weekend in February, saying tolerance of varying viewpoints was part of being 鈥渙pen, welcoming and inclusive.鈥�
Seven players decided not to take part in warmups when their teams sported Pride jerseys before games. A few teams also chose to not have players wear them after planning to do so.
鈥淎ll the attention was taken away from the right reasons,鈥� said Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund, who won the King Clancy Award. 鈥淎ll of us were wearing the jerseys 鈥� everyone was looking (at), 鈥榃ho鈥檚 not and why not?鈥�
鈥淚 understand the decision the NHL made to take that distraction away. Teams can still have their nights 鈥� their special nights 鈥� and I think that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
Ivan Provorov, a Russian defenceman then with Philadelphia, was the first NHLer to refuse to wear a Pride-themed warmup jersey in January, citing his religion.
San Jose goaltender James Reimer, and brothers Eric and Marc Staal of Florida, who are all Canadian, also cited religious beliefs. Russian players Ilya Lyubushkin of Buffalo, Denis Gurianov of Montreal and Andrei Kuzmenko of Vancouver all opted out of their teams鈥� Pride night warmups.
Lyubushkin pointed to an anti-gay Kremlin law, which was also why the Chicago Blackhawks decided against Pride night jerseys. The New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild earlier opted against the jerseys after previously advertising they would have them.
鈥淓veryone has their beliefs, and I can鈥檛 speak on those,鈥� McDavid said. 鈥淎ll I can speak for is myself and us in Edmonton. I know we strongly support those type of nights.鈥�
Sergei Bobrovsky, who is Russian, took part in warmups the night the Staal brothers declined and in the aftermath of several countrymen deciding not to wear Pride jerseys.
鈥淚t was tough to see that some guys didn鈥檛,鈥� said Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang, who won the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. 鈥淚 understand sometimes why they didn鈥檛, but to me, it doesn鈥檛 mean that you鈥檙e fully supporting or not supporting it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just to make our sport accessible to everybody.鈥�
READ ALSO:
