NHL Team Held 'Pride Night' with Rainbow-Stick Tape – Then the Players Boycotted

The American ice hockey club Washington Capitals, which plays in the NHL, recently organized its annual ‘Pride Night’ in connection with their game against the Florida Panthers. The arena was filled with rainbow messages, the club’s communications machinery ran at full speed, and the players were expected—as is customary in the NHL—to show their support with rainbow-colored stick tape. But on the ice, the outcome was quite different from what the organizers had likely hoped for, as the majority of the players said no.

Of the 20 players who played in the match, only eight used rainbow tape on their sticks—the symbolic gesture that replaced Pride jerseys after the NHL banned themed jerseys in 2023. The other twelve simply chose to abstain, something that has been noticed by several media outlets including Breitbart.

All eight players who participated in the Pride gesture were from the USA or Canada. The twelve players who didn’t use rainbow stick tape were all European, mainly from Russia, Slovakia, and Scandinavia.

‘Celebrating the Importance of Inclusion’

Despite a clear majority of the players opting out of the Pride gesture, the club kept pumping out its message in the arena. The audience was served video clips, graphics, and statements in which the organization emphasized its commitment to LGBTQ+ issues.

In one of the pre-recorded segments played on the jumbotron, Capitals center Dylan Strome clearly took a stand for the event and the club’s position.

– We stand proudly together with the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate the importance of inclusion every day.

“There’s so much room to grow in this space — in the LGBTQ+ community … It’s about just accepting and making it an open space for anybody involved in the community.”

On our #Pride Night, we asked PWHL players about the importance of representation.#ALLCAPS x @thepwhlofficial pic.twitter.com/KyhVA7hemd

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 18, 2026

Club Legend Abstained

Among those who did not participate was the team captain, club icon, and future Hall of Famer Aleksandr Ovechkin from Russia. He is the Capitals’ all-time leading goal scorer and didn’t make a fuss of the situation—he just taped his stick as usual.

Aleksandr Ovechkin has now scored over 917 goals in the NHL and surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s legendary record when he netted his 895th goal in April last year.

The issue of players’ participation in Pride Nights drew major attention in the NHL already back in 2023, when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear a rainbow-colored jersey. He justified the decision with his Russian Orthodox faith and said he wanted to remain true to himself and his religion.