Connor Bedard defies Gary Bettman on Pride Night
Chicago Blackhawks' rookie Connor Bedard openly defied Gary Bettman's orders regarding a controversial matter: the Pride Nights.
On Tuesday night, before a game against the Calgary Flames, the Blackhawks held a pride night. Even if players couldn't wear a special jersey, they decided to wear pride-themed tape on their sticks.
Bedard defies Bettman and wears pride-themed tape on his stick during warmups.
The NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced last summer that the league would ban all festivities and celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community, one of the most controversial decision of recent years in the NHL.
The Blackhawks did it on Tuesday. Here are pictures of Bedard wearing the tape:
Other Blackhawks players open up on the importance of Pride Nights
Bedard wasn't alone in this. The organization and some of his teammates also participated in the event.
The veteran Seth Jones mentioned:
All the players are are still happy that the organization is at least having a Pride Night. We're not wearing the jerseys, but I think it means more than that. I think if everyone believes in it, it's not just about the jersey at the end of the day."
Nick Foligno, another respected member of the team, talked about the importance of this event:
It's a nice way to take on leadership yourself, whatever you feel your beliefs are. I think that's a great way to grow as a person. So if that's an important part for you, then stand up and do it and and I think everyone's there to support each other."
The Hawks ended up beating the Calgary Flames 3-1. It's great to see them win and play well on such an important night for the community.
More to come.
As seen on House of Hockey - Bedard stands up to Gary Bettman with a heartwarming gesture
| POLL | ||
MARS 28 | 140 ANSWERS Connor Bedard defies Gary Bettman on Pride Night Do you think Connor made the right choice by defying Gary Bettman on pride night? | ||
| Yes | 89 | 63.6 % |
| No | 51 | 36.4 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
| Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
| Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
| Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
| Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
| Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
| Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
| Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
| Clayton Keller | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||