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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury wore a custom Native American Heritage night mask in warmups on Friday night despite the NHL having forbidden him from doing so because it violated league policy on players wearing specialty equipment on theme nights.
Fleury wanted to honor his wife, Vรฉronique, who is Native Canadian, by wearing a specially designed mask by artist Cole Redhorse Taylor.
His agent Allan Walsh said Fleury was informed he wasn’t permitted to wear the mask in the game or in warmups against the visiting Colorado Avalanche because it violated a new NHL policy this season. Walsh said Fleury offered to pay whatever fine the league would levy, but that NHL then threatened the Wild organization with an “additional significant fine” if he did.
A source told ESPN that there isn’t any punishment expected for Fleury or the Wild from the NHL for the goalie having worn the Native American Heritage night mask. The Avalanche won 3-2 and Fleury did not appear in the game.
La Fleur but make it ๐ธ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ธ
Thanks to our friends at @PrairieIsland_ for designing this one-of-a-kind mask for Flower on our Native American Heritage Night. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/0Tlt11BSok
โ Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 24, 2023
The NHL announced in June that teams were no longer allowed to wear “specialty” jerseys during warmups, practices or games that supported causes like Pride, military appreciation or ethnic heritage nights. The league further clarified that on-ice player uniforms and gear worn in warmups, official team practices and games could not be altered to reflect “specialty” theme nights.
The theme night equipment ban was approved by the NHL board of governors with no objection from the NHLPA. It was enacted after several players refused to take part in warmups last season when their teams wore Pride Night jerseys, citing personal or religious objections to the LGBTIQA+ initiative.
There have been some exemptions made under the policy this season.
In October, the NHL reversed its ban on Pride tape, the rainbow colored stick tape players had used to support the LGBTIQA+ community, after Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott became the first NHL player to use that tape on his stick during a game. Neither Dermott nor the Coyotes were punished for violating the policy at that time.
“Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season,” the NHL said in a statement.
While the league rejected Fleury’s request for a Native American Heritage night mask, it allowed two goalies to wear specialty masks for Hockey Fights Cancer nights this season: Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and Seattle Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer. A source familiar with that decision said those exemptions were due to those goalies having worn cancer-awareness masks before the ban was enacted, and due to the nature of the cause they were supporting.
The Wild first asked the NHL about Fleury’s mask about a month ago. Noah Ennis of Shell Shock, who made Fleury’s mask, told ESPN that the Wild were under the impression that Fleury “couldn’t wear it in the game, but that he could probably wear it in warmups” after speaking with the NHL.
“They had a stance they weren’t going to allow anything, and then players started saying they were going to use the Pride tape,” Ennis said.
But Ennis said that the Wild asked the NHL again about the mask this week and “it was a firm no on all of that.”
Redhorse Taylor said on Instagram that it was an honor to design the mask for Fleury.
“I was very humbled to represent my community and my family this way. The helmet will be up for auction after this weekend, all proceeds will go towards a Native American led charity that assists with indigenous families in the [Minneapolis-St. Paul] area,” Redhorse Taylor said.
Bids on Fleury’s mask were nearing $6,000 on Friday night before the game. The Wild’s Native America Heritage Night jerseys, which are autographed but not game-worn, are also up for auction.
Source: www.espn.com