Islanders' Pride Night won't feature rainbow jerseys or tape

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The Islanders will be the latest NHL team to avoid wearing rainbow warm-ups during their Pride Night, on Thursday at UBS Arena against the Canucks.

Unlike the Rangers, who last month pulled their plans to wear their rainbow gear without explanation, the Islanders have never worn rainbow jerseys due to an organization policy against wearing specialized warm-ups. The only ones they wear are produced by the league: Hockey Fights Cancer, Military and Saint Patrick's Day.

The Islanders also won't be using the rainbow tape, which is commonly used during Pride nights throughout the league, during their pregame warm-ups Thursday.

The issue came to the forefront this season when Philadelphia defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to take part in warm-ups on the Flyers’ Pride Night, stating his religious beliefs as his reason for not supporting the LGBTQ+ community. A little more than a week later, the Rangers suddenly reversed their plans to wear rainbow warm-ups, and they still haven't explained why.

The Islanders will be making donations to the LGBT Network and the New York Gay Hockey Association, as well carrying out a series of other initiatives, including Pride branding on their advertising boards and on the team's social and digital platforms.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has made clear that he doesn't want the issue of rainbow gear to overshadow the league's initiatives supporting the gay community. In reality, though, that may be happening.

"You know what our goals and our values and our intentions are across the league, whether it's at the league level or the club level," Bettman said last week at the NHL All-Star Game. "But we also have to respect some individual choice. And some people are more comfortable embracing themselves and causes than others. And part of being diverse and welcoming is understanding those differences."