The Pittsburgh Penguins declared that “Respect and inclusion are at the heart of hockey” Thursday as the NHL organization hosted its Pride Night game against the St. Louis Blues. Penguins players, ...

Some critics on social media also noted that the ban seemed to go against the NHL's official rulebook, which states that "tape of any color may be wrapped around the stick." Pride Tape ...

which faced backlash two years ago when it banned teams from wearing Pride jerseys and for a while from even wrapping their sticks with Pride Tape. It helps that Andrew Ference, the NHL’s ...

As a visual show of support, multiple players wrapped their sticks in rainbow pride tape, including Crosby. When the NHL banned pride tape before last season, the future Hall of Famer spoke out.

The NHL’s ban on Pride tape was lifted in 2023 after Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott defied the ban and after meetings with the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL Player Inclusion ...