Connor McDavid calls NHL’s decision to ban themed jerseys ‘disappointing’

Connor McDavid is not a fan of the NHL’s new policy on themed warm-up jerseys.

The league decided last week that teams will not wear special pre-game clothing next season – the result of a handful of players refusing to wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys in 2022-23, which in turn created unwanted distractions.

“It’s disappointing to watch,” McDavid, the face of the NHL and the superstar captain of the Edmonton Oilers, said at Monday night’s NHL awards ceremony in Nashville.

“It’s not my choice, but it’s obviously disappointing.”

The league’s board of directors agreed with Commissioner Gary Bettman’s view that the jersey’s denials overshadowed teams’ efforts in hosting Pride nights.

All 32 teams held a Pride or Hockey is for All night in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I certainly can’t speak for every organization,” said McDavid, who won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. “I know in Edmonton we were one of the first teams to use the Pride tape.

“We strongly feel that hockey is for everyone, and that also applies to Pride nights.”

Theme evenings continue

Teams will still celebrate Pride and other themed nights, including Military Appreciation and Hockey Fights Cancer. Clubs are also expected to continue designing and producing jerseys to be signed and sold to raise money, even though players don’t wear them during warm-ups.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said it was disappointing that the story this season was the few players who decided not to wear Pride jerseys.

“It was 98 percent or 99 percent of the other players who wore the jersey and enjoyed wearing it and were proud to wear it – whatever jersey it was – whether it was the Pride, the military night, the cancer nights,” said Stamkos, who won the Mark Messier Leadership Award. “The story shouldn’t be about the guy who didn’t wear it – the one guy or the two guys.

“I understand that’s what gets the clicks and that’s what gets the views, but the word ‘distraction’ is used. I don’t think it has to be a distraction. It’s a good thing that came out of those nights.”

Bettman defended the league’s and teams’ handling of the situation during the NHL all-star weekend in February, saying that tolerance for differing points of view was part of being “open, welcoming and inclusive.”

Seven players decided not to participate in the warmup when their teams wore Pride jerseys before the game. A few teams also chose not to let players wear them after planning to do so.

“All attention was taken away from the right reasons,” said Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund, who won the King Clancy Award. “We all wore the jerseys… everybody looked (at), ‘Who didn’t and why not?’

“I understand the decision the NHL made to remove that distraction. Teams can still have their nights, their special nights, and I think that’s a good thing.”

Players have opted out

Ivan Provorov, a Russian defenseman 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 Florida brothers Eric and Marc Staal, who are all Canadian, also mentioned religious beliefs. Russian players Ilya Lyubushkin of Buffalo, Denis Gurianov of Montreal and Andrei Kuzmenko of Vancouver have all opted out of their teams’ Pride warmup.

Lyubushkin pointed to an anti-gay Kremlin law, which was also why Chicago decided not to wear Pride night jerseys. The New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild previously opted against the jerseys after previously announcing they would have them.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who is Russian, participated in the warm-up the night the Staal brothers declined and in the wake of several compatriots deciding not to wear Pride jerseys.

“It was hard to see some guys not do that,” said Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who won the Bill Masterton Trophy for persistence, sportsmanship and dedication. “Sometimes I understand why they didn’t, but to me that doesn’t mean you fully support it or don’t support it.

“It’s just to make our sport accessible to everyone.”