Despite himself, goalkeeper Marc-André Fleury seems at the heart of a controversy because of his desire to wear a mask paying homage to the First Nations on Friday.
The Quebecer planned to use the piece of equipment on the sidelines of the game against the Colorado Avalanche, on the occasion of a special Minnesota Wild evening highlighting indigenous heritage and moreover, number 29 was proud to feature the mask designed by Cole Redhorse Taylor, an artist from the Prairie Island community. In addition, the club highlighted the object in a promotional text published on its official website about the event.
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The entities and stakeholders involved are obviously happy with this initiative, but one organization would not share this enthusiasm: the National Hockey League (NHL). This would have warned Fleury and his team that it will impose penalties if the veteran goes ahead with his idea. And he won’t back down, according to his agent Allan Walsh.
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“Marc-André Fleury indicated that in any case, he plans to wear the mask and pay the fine. The NHL then threatened the Wild with additional financial sanctions,” he said on his X account.
“As part of the First Nations heritage evening and to pay tribute to his wife [dont la famille est d’origine abénakise et mi’kmaw]Marc-André Fleury had a custom-designed mask. […] Quotes from his father and the names of his children are inscribed there. He is disappointed that the NHL informed him that he cannot even wear it during the warm-up session,” added The Athletic journalist Michael Russo.
However, the 38-year-old athlete has already used a head protector honoring the First Nations, notably in November 2021, when he played with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, as many have observed in recent months, the Bettman circuit is much more cautious regarding socio-political issues likely to create controversy. During the off-season, he scrapped the pieces of equipment normally displayed during thematic evenings such as those on black history and the cause of the LGBTQ+ community.