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The NHL settled on a moment of reflection prior to the game between the Lightning and Bruins where they urged for an end to racism. Seguin said there weren’t any serious discussions with his teammates on not playing when the Stars arrived at Rogers Place for the game.
“To be honest, I woke up from my (pre-game) nap and didn’t really realize what the NBA was doing when I got to the rink,” Seguin said. “So there wasn’t much thought in my head today to think about not playing tonight. I support what’s going on, I support the movement and I think, honestly, hockey needs to do more, but I think we can all show our actions in different ways.”
NBA players had a meeting Wednesday to determine whether they want to continue their playoffs currently taking place at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Fla. There have been no such discussions in the NHL, which has two games scheduled for Thursday.
“It’s a difficult situation and there’s different ways where we can show support,” Dickinson said. “Does this not playing solve things? No, but it brings attention to it. What happened, it was kind of last second, we had woken up and we were already in game mode and it was one of those things that it’s hard to come together that close to game time and change our frame of mind.”
Although he now lives in the United States, Dickinson, an Ontario product, admits it may be difficult for NHL players to fully relate to the struggle blacks and other minorities face on a daily basis, even though they are sympathetic to it.
