James Reimer drags Nazem Kadri into the 'Pride Night' controversy.

San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer stirred up quite the controversy on Saturday night when he became the second player to take a public stance against the National Hockey League's 'Pride Night' events. The first was of course Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov who set off a firestorm when he sat out the Flyers own 'Pride Night' earlier in the season, but this case was a little different with the Sharks knowing well ahead of time that Reimer would not be participating.

The veteran goaltender cited his faith as his reason for choosing not to participate in the event:

Under the umbrella of the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, the San Jose Sharks have chosen to wear jerseys in support of the LGBTQIA+ community tonight.

For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian - not just in title, but in how I choose to live my life daily. I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him. I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness.

In the specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life.

I strongly believe that every person has value and worth, and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all the others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey.

Following the game itself, Reimer was unsurprisingly inundated with questions regarding his decision not to wear the Pride jersey during warmups, and while he was facing those questions he surprisingly dragged Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri into the conversation.

Reimer was trying to indicate that he didn't treat people based on their differing beliefs, citing his former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate in Kadri as an example.

"But in Toronto, Nazem Kadri as a teammate, loved him to death. I don’t know exactly the extent of his faith, his Muslim faith. But he’s a Muslim," said Reimer of Kadri as per Sharks beat writer Shen Peng.

"I think you could talk to him and ask him if I treated him any different. I love him. I competed with him on the ice, we joked around, we did life together."

"And yet, people would understand if I wouldn't be able to wear a Muslim jersey in warmups, promoting the Muslim faith, being a CHristian and a fellow in Christ. He himself would fully understand that."

I'm not sure how Kadri would feel having his name linked to this controversial topic, but I suspect we will find out soon enough given that he will undoubtedly be asked about the comments from his former teammate.