Fleury wears Native American heritage mask after NHL tells him not to

Marc-Andre Fleury chose to wear the mask he had made for Native American Heritage Night on Friday despite the NHL insisting he wasn't allowed to do so.

The Minnesota Wild goaltender - who was dressed as the team's backup for the evening's game against the Colorado Avalanche - said earlier in the day he was upset that the league wasn't going to let him wear the mask.

The custom headgear honors his wife, Veronique Larosee Fleury, who is a member of an Indigenous tribe in Canada.

Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, said pregame that Fleury implied he'd wear the mask regardless of the league's stance and pay a fine as a result. The NHL then threatened to charge the team a "significant additional fine," according to Walsh.

However, sources told The Athletic's Michael Russo neither Fleury nor the Wild are likely to be billed over it.

The veteran netminder told Russo he was most upset about the league's position because the mask also features a quote in French 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.

Before the start of this season, the NHL updated its guidelines on theme nights in response to seven players refusing to wear Pride jerseys during warmups in the previous campaign. The league said teams could still hold theme nights, but players wouldn't be allowed to wear anything promoting causes of any kind on the ice.

The rule prohibited anything promoting cancer awareness in addition to the aforementioned initiatives.

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott became the first player to defy the blanket ban when he used Pride tape on his stick during a game against the Anaheim Ducks in October.