Marc-Andre Fleury Wears Native American Heritage Mask After NHL Asked Him Not To

Marc-Andre Fleury for the win. The veteran netminder and all around good guy didn't like what he was hearing from the NHL on his new mask and he decided it was much bigger than hockey. Fleury chose to wear his Native American Heritage mask on Friday night after the NHL requested him not to.

Considering how inclusive the NHL is 'trying' to be, it was quite the turn of events this week when the league asked Fleury to leave his new mask at home. The custom mask is a honorary piece for his wife, Veronique Larosee Fleury, who is a member of an Indigenous tribe in Canada. The mask is something that represents heritage and history and is something that was created very near and dear to the Fleury's hearts.

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

Fleury's vocal agent Allan Walsh stated to expect to see Fleury sporting the mask in warm ups and he was prepared to pay any fine handed down by the league. It does sound like no penalty is coming and the league is going to just sweep things under the rug with how horribly things were handled.

According to Michael Russo of the Athletic, Fleury was also upset about the league's stance on his mask as it also features a quote from his late father, Andre, who lost his right eye as a child and often told his son to keep his eye on the puck.

The NHL keeps getting in their own way and good on players across the league stepping out and promoting meaningful causes despite the lack of support from head office.