The NHL has taken a stand on the recent issues with players sitting out of Pride Night warmups in the most NHL way possible: by not taking a stand at all.
Starting next season, NHL teams will not be allowed to wear specialty jerseys in pregame warmups.
The NHL’s board of governors came to the decision during their regular meeting at the end of the season. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in an interview after the meetings.
“I’ve suggested that it would be appropriate for clubs to not change jerseys in warmups because it’s become a distraction and taking away from the fact that all of our clubs, in some form or another, host nights in honor of various groups or causes,” said Bettman, “and we’d rather they continue to get the appropriate attention that they deserve, and not be a distraction.”
This decision comes in the wake of numerous controversies throughout the 2022-23 season that saw several players and teams choose to not wear Pride night jerseys due to their beliefs. Then-Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov was the first to sit out, with San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer and Florida Panthers’ brothers Eric and Marc Staal following suit, and the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers all refusing to as a team after doing so in previous seasons.
The decision also comes at a controversial time due to June being Pride month, creating a look that they are dismissing their LGBTQ+ fans. However, Bettman insists that it shouldn’t be a concern.
“I agree that those are legitimate concerns, but in the final analysis, all of the efforts and emphasis on these various causes have been undermined by the distraction in terms of ‘which teams, which players’,” said Bettman. “This way, we’re keeping the focus on the game, and on these specialty nights, we’re going to be focused on the cause.”
While the decision was likely made due to the controversies surrounding players and teams not wearing Pride jerseys, this decision does include every specialty jersey, including Hockey Fights Cancer and military appreciation nights. This also does not prevent teams from hosting the events, it just limits what the players can wear on the ice.
“All 32 of our clubs did Pride nights, some do heritage nights, everybody does Hockey Fights Cancer, some do military nights, all of those nights will continue,” said Bettman. “The only difference will be that we’re not going to be changing jerseys for warmups because that’s just become more of a distraction from the essence and purpose of what these nights are.”
Specialty jerseys will still be sold to fans at the events, and players will be allowed to model them for promotional material, just not during pregame warmups.
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