NHL teams won’t wear theme-night jerseys after players’ Pride refusals caused distractions

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

NHL teams won’t have players wear themed jerseys during pregame warmups next season. That decision was made after the league’s Board of Governors agreed with Commissioner Gary Bettman that a handful of players refusing to wear Pride jerseys distracted from teams’ efforts. Seven players citing various reasons declined to take part in warmups when their team donned rainbow-colored Pride jerseys for warmups. Teams will still host Pride and other theme nights and are expected to continue making and auctioning off jerseys even though players won’t wear them.