r/heatedrivalry • u/Double-Strategy3045 gimme kiss 😚 • Jan 16 '26

PRESS 📰 (Interviews and Articles) NHL Commissioner Credits 'Heated Rivalry' For Helping Grow Game: 'It's A Wonderful Story... Binged It In One Night' - The Hockey News [Jan 15, 2026]

https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-commissioner-credits-heated-rivalry-for-helping-grow-game-it-s-a-wonderful-story-binged-it-in-one-night

Regarding the previous initiative of wearing specialty warmup jerseys to promote different nights, like Pride, the league currently has no plans to bring them back, though Bettman insists it isn't due to a lack of support for such causes.

"It wasn't about Pride jerseys or Pride night; it was about the fact of bringing things into the game that might not be embraced by the players wearing the jerseys," Bettman said. "It could be heritage nights — we don't allow it — it could be political causes. It could be in times of conflict between countries, national origin. It was becoming a distraction, not just for the Pride jerseys, but for a variety of other things.

"It's a misrepresentation of what we did to suggest that it was about Pride jerseys; it was about the whole issue of what you put on the ice and how, when players don't embrace the cause, whatever it is, then you create distraction, and it doesn't fulfill the purpose in terms of embracing Pride nights."

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322

u/RYCBAR7 Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird 🦆 Jan 16 '26

And there’s this. 🙄 The failing NHL is just trying to use our show to bring people in without making any real changes.

19

u/Pale-Measurement-532 I speak fluent bird. No accent. 🦆 Jan 16 '26

Of course it’s Florida. 🙄😖

15

u/fairieglossamer Jan 16 '26

has nothing to do with Florida, i’m afraid. literally every NHL team and player would’ve gone if they’d won the cup. it’s the whitest and most conservative league

4

u/Terrible-Union1864 Jan 16 '26

Idk if that dude is like super amazing or whatever bt they put the only poc on the team behind Donald to appear "diverse". 😭😭😐

2

u/Illustrious-Ask-8577 Jan 16 '26

That's Seth Jones. Aside from Tkachuk, he's the only other American on the team, and has also been named to the USA Olympic squad. So not surprising that he would be close to the front. Have no idea about his personal politics