Connor McDavid calls NHL's move to ban themed jerseys 'disappointing'

Connor McDavid isn't a fan of the NHL's new policy on themed warm-up jerseys.

The league decided last week teams won't wear special pre-game threads next season — the result of a handful of players refusing to sport rainbow-coloured Pride jerseys in 2022-23, which in turn caused unwelcome distractions.

"It's disappointing to see," McDavid, the face of the NHL and the superstar captain of the Edmonton Oilers, said at Monday night's NHL awards ceremony in Nashville.

"It's not my call, but obviously it's disappointing."

The league's board of governors agreed with commissioner Gary Bettman's view the jersey refusals overshadowed teams' efforts in hosting Pride nights.

All 32 teams held a Pride or "Hockey is for Everyone" night in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

"I certainly can't speak for every organization," said McDavid, who won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. "I know in Edmonton, we were one of the first teams to use the Pride tape.

"We strongly feel hockey is for everybody, and that includes the Pride nights."

Teams will still celebrate Pride and other theme nights, including military appreciation and Hockey Fights Cancer. Clubs are also expected to continue designing and producing jerseys to be autographed and sold to raise money, even though players won't wear them during warm-up.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said it was disappointing the story this season was the few players who decided against wearing Pride jerseys.

"It was 98 per cent or 99 per cent of other players that wore the jersey and enjoyed wearing it and were proud wearing it — whatever jersey it was — whether it was the Pride, the military night, the cancer nights," said Stamkos, who won the Mark Messier Leadership Award. "The story shouldn't be about the guy that didn't wear it — the one guy or the two guys.

"I understand that's what gets the clicks and that's what gets the views, but the word 'distraction' gets thrown around. I don't think it had to have been a distraction. It could have been a non-issue while focusing on the good that was coming out of those nights."

Bettman defended the league's and teams' handling of the situation at NHL all-star weekend in February, saying tolerance of varying viewpoints was part of being "open, welcoming and inclusive."

Seven players decided not to take part in warm-ups when their teams sported Pride jerseys before games. A few teams also chose to not have players wear them after planning to do so.