When the NHL decided to ban the use of rainbow-coloured tape on Pride Nights — on the heels of banning specialty jerseys over the off-season, as well — there were many, players and fans alike, that were left shocked and confused.
Morgan Rielly, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mikael Backlund and Scott Laughton were among the players that voiced their disappointment, but the jury was out on which player would be the first to openly defy the NHL's rules, incurring the fine that may accompany that choice.
Well, we didn't have to wait long to find out, as fans were quick to notice that Arizona Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott had the colourful tape wrapped around the top of his stick on Saturday at the Coyotes' home opener at Mullett Arena.
ESPN's Greg Wyshnski reported Sunday that the Coyotes have not been informed of any punishment for Dermott. Hockey Operations is not expected to make any decisions on the matter on Sunday.
The NHL told The Athletic that they would review the use of the Pride tape.
The former Maple Leaf and Canuck has never been shy about voicing his support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, using the Pride tape on his stick consistently since at least 2021.
"I have some family involved in the LGBTQ community," Dermott told ESPN's Kristen Shilton in Oct. 2021. "So I'd like to step forward and in the future take part in supporting them more vigorously."
The NHL made the decision to ban Pride tape and specialty jerseys — widely seen as a promising step, if performative, to promote inclusivity in a largely insular hockey culture — after several notable players across the league publicly opted out of participating in Pride Night activities, including Ivan Proverov and Andrei Kuzmenko.
Speaking on Sportsnet's Halford & Brough earlier this month, deputy commissioner Bill Daly explained the decision as not wanting to put players in a "difficult position."
“We don’t want the situation where some players, or a large majority of players, use a certain cause messaging that other players don’t want to utilize and that puts those other players in a difficult position. We don’t want to put them in that difficult position,” Daly said.
Commissioner Gary Bettman also commented in June that the discourse surrounding Pride Nights had become a "distraction" for players. The ban on themed jerseys to commemorate special causes also includes Hockey Fights Cancer, Black History Month and Military Appreciation Night.
