Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury wore a custom-made mask for the team’s Native American Heritage Night against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday despite threats of a potential fine from the NHL.
The situation was created when Fleury had a mask made in honor of his wife, Veronique, who is a registered member of a tribe in Canada. The mask featured a quote from his late father on the back and the name of his kids, but violates the NHL’s guidelines on what players can do for nights featuring special initiatives.
As part of Native American Heritage Night and to honor his wife, who is native, Marc-Andre Fleury had a custom-designed mask created by Cole Redhorse Taylor. Mask quotes his dad on back, has names of his kids.
He’s bummed the NHL has informed him he can’t even wear in warmups pic.twitter.com/wTR1BtkLOI
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) November 24, 2023
The NHL outlawed tributes such as Fleury’s mask prior to this season as it explained what players can and can’t do for special initiatives like Heritage Nights. The ban also included Pride tape for LGBTQ nights, but that decision was reversed earlier this month.
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Fleury called the threat “stupid” and was going to pay the fine. But the league doubled down and threatened to fine the Wild organization if Fleury wore the mask.
Fleury wore the mask during warmups anyway, but The Athletic also reports that neither he nor the Wild organization are expected to be fined.
The details on Marc-Andre Fleury’s Native American Heritage mask 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3F8iOGR87x
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) November 25, 2023
Fluery watched from the bench as Filip Gustavsson made the start in a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche on Friday night. Fleury has a 3-4-2 record with a 3.46 GAA and an .875 save percentage for the Wild this season.
