Canadiens issue a statement after one of their players opts out of celebrations tonight

Earlier this week the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice at Scotiabank Arena for Pride Night game against the Columbus Blue Jackets wearing rainbow coloured decals on their helmets/masks. All save for goaltender Ilya Samsonov who elected to not wear anything that promotes the LGBTQ+ community.

Incidentally, the Leafs did NOT wear a special Pride themed warmup jersey for the evening, but this wasn't a change in their protocol as they've never worn anything other than their usual warmup jerseys.

Today, the Montreal Canadiens issued a statement after forward Denis Gurianov announced that he also will not partake in the team's Pride celebrations this evening.

Another day, another silent protest in the NHL...

On Monday, the St. Louis Blues announced that they had changed their plans for Pride Night and had ditched the rainbow-themed warmup jerseys that the team was scheduled to wear. The Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks also elected to drop their own jerseys after concerns that their Russian born players would face legal problems in Russia for "supporting non-normal lifestyles". The Russian government recently instituted new laws regarding LGBTQ rights and the promotion of what they call "alternative sexualities". Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov, San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer, Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres blue-liner Ilya Lyubushkin and Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko have all opted out of Pride celebrations citing religious and political reasons.

My thoughts on this matter have been well stated on this website. I believe that the NHL should do away with every 'special interest' evening, including Pride Night. That means Military Appreciation Night and Law Enforcement Appreciation night too. These causes, along with LGBTQ+ causes, have become too politicized and are just dripping with drama. To me, hockey is just hockey. Nothing more. I don't tune into a hockey game or buy tickets so that I can be part of Pride celebrations or to witness the glorification of war. Just drop the puck and let's smash some teeth already. Anyone else with me? Or am I just out to lunch like usual?