NHL Veteran Calls Out Gary Bettman With Recent Move

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Austin Sabourin
December 5, 2023 (9:13 PM)

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Marc-Andre Fleury, the seasoned goaltender with 548 career NHL victories, closing in on his boyhood idol Patrick Roy, faced a notable controversy in the waning days of the previous month.

Reports emerged that the NHL issued a warning to Fleury and the Minnesota Wild concerning a specially designed mask intended for Minnesota's Native American Heritage Night. Undeterred, Fleury defied the League's directive, donning the custom mask during pre-game warmups at XCel Energy Center.

The positive turn of events saw the NHL retracting its reported threat against Fleury and the Wild. Even more heartening, the mask fetched a winning bid of $35,100 from a fortunate bidder.

Fleury expressed gratitude, stating,

«Very generous. It's for a good cause, which is the main reason why I wanted to wear the mask. You can wear the mask for 15 minutes and raise a good bunch of money to help people. To me, I just thought it was the right thing to do. I'm not someone that likes to go against rules. My mom was surprised that I wore it, but it just made no sense to me."

He added a perspective on the situation, highlighting the insignificance of the gesture in the grand scheme,

"Like, I've had four paint jobs on my masks this season, so I could have worn this mask all season, and nobody would say a thing. It's just such a small thing to do, but it meant so much to the people we're raising money for and the person, Cole (Redhorse Taylor), who designed it.»

Furthermore, the Prairie Island Indian Community pledged to match the mask's donation to a charity of Fleury's choosing.

This incident occurred against the backdrop of the NHL's early-season decision to restrict players' individual expressions supporting causes, a measure aimed at preventing controversies that had garnered significant attention in the preceding year, particularly regarding players opting not to wear Pride warmup sweaters.

As seen on hawksinsider