Anthony Duclair: NHL ‘Taking a Step Backward’

Former Florida Panthers forward Anthony Duclair is known for his work in the community and for being an active member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.

Now with the San Jose Sharks, Duclair spoke about a report in which the NHL has not only prohibited teams from wearing specialized warmup jerseys — as a direct response to the refusal by some players to wear ‘Pride Night’ gear — to a ban on players using rainbow tape on such nights.

“I know a lot of guys are supportive of that. I have no problem in the past to do it. It sucks that’s not going to be part of the league moving forward,” Duclair told San Jose Hockey Now. “It’s a little weird to me, a little puzzling to me.”

Duclair, who started his own charitable foundation while with the Panthers last season, says the NHL reacting to the ‘Pride Night’ in such a way also affects other causes — such as Black History Night.

Last season, the Panthers wore special jerseys for that but, now with the NHL halting all specialized jerseys, those are gone as well. So, too, is any type of on-ice support.

“That’s why the NBA, NFL, leagues like that, they’re always growing year after year, always getting new fans, new viewership,” Duclair said.

“As a league-wide thing, they’re gonna do what they feel is necessary. But I think as individuals, you got to step up and keep pushing the message forward to the fans, to include new fans.That’s on the players. The league can force whatever rules they made, but each player here has a voice of their own.”

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

Oh no! The Florida Panthers are 0-1!

On Thursday, the Panthers got stoned by Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson as he made 41 saves and picked up the shutout in a 2-0 win.

The Panthers looked fine. Relax. And I am not talking to all of you, just the usual suspects.

— Did you know Matthew Tkachuk, his brother Brady and their mom Chantal made a Hyundai commercial? No? Well, that’s probably because you don’t live in Canada where it is being aired. Regardless, watch it here. It’s pretty good.

— We all knew Mackie Samoskevich was going to make his NHL debut on Thursday night by 27-year-old Uvis Balenskis was a surprise based on how practices had been going.

— Speaking of Balenskis, if you missed my story on him from earlier in the week, check it out, please. It is a really good story — from his point of view. And thanks to all of our new readers from Latvia! Laipni lūdzam!

— As always, you all had a number of great questions for the FHN Mailbag as we discuss a variety of topics from third jerseys (shocker!), contract extensions, the chances Patrick Kane comes to the Panthers, what happened to Grigori Denisenko and much, much more.

This story is exclusive to FHN subscribers — and you can get $10 off an annual pass by using George10 at checkout.

— It looked like Justin Sourdif was the final cut of the preseason and, technically, he was. But that was more due to salary cap gymnastics than anything else. Regardless, Sourdif deserved a spot on the Panthers to start this season and he has it.

— Plenty of new video on the FHN YouTube Channel including pre- and postgame from Paul Maurice, Sasha Barkov, Sergei Bobrovsky and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Click RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place. If you hit subscribe (it’s free), you will know when new content comes up.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

The Philadelphia Flyers took the initial lead and never trailed in Columbus as John Tortorella and Cam Atkinson leave town with a W.

— The Detroit Red Wings lost their opener. Don’t sweat it.

— The Boston Bruins announce their all-centennial team.

— Adam Boqvist would look good with the Montreal Canadiens.

— Can the Pittsburgh Penguins contain Alex Ovechkin when the Caps are on the power play?

PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT WINNIPEG JETS

• When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
• Where: Canada Life Center, Winnipeg
• TV: Bally Sports Florida; ESPN+
• Radio: WAXY 790-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• This season: Florida @ Winnipeg, Saturday; Winnipeg @ Florida, Nov. 24
• Last season: Winnipeg won 2-0
• All-time regular season series: Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets lead 52-31-8, 5 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Monday at New Jersey Devils, 7 (BSF, 560-AM)