The Athletic
Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko will not wear the team’s Pride night warmup jersey Friday, coach Rick Tocchet told reporters ahead of the game. The rest of the team is expected to wear the special jerseys. Here’s what you need to know:
Tocchet called Kuzmenko’s choice to opt out of wearing the jersey “a family decision.”
Kuzmenko, who will skip the pregame warm-up, is the latest Russian NHL player who has chosen to not wear his team’s Pride jersey.
Canucks right wingers Vitali Kravtsov and Vasily Podkolzin, both from Russia, are not available to play Friday. Kravtsov will be scratched from the game and Podkolzin was absent from Friday’s morning skate.