BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin will not wear the team's specialty Pride jersey or participate in pre-game warmup ahead of tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens, a decision the Russian native has made due to concerns about his family's safety.

“Myself, as an American and as a North American, I don't think I'm able to understand, you know, the psychological decisions that he's going through and some of the psychological burdens that he goes through being from a different part of the world,” said Sabres captain Kyle Okposo. “So I don't think it's fair to judge him in an apples to apples sense. We support Boosh in this room and we want to make sure that he's comfortable and we respect his decisions. And I think that passing judgment on him without trying to understand the full scope of his decision would be would be unwise.”

Going forward with the Sabres’ third annual Pride Night, the rest of the team will be participating as planned in warmup with commemorative pucks and wearing specialty jerseys that will then be auctioned off to benefit local Pride organizations.

“I love the fact that our team can sit down, close a door, talk about things, and obviously it's been a hot topic around the league, with teams doing different things and teams changing things midstream,” said Sabres head coach Don Granato. “And so it was nice for our group to really take an event like this and have a lot of meaningful conversations even leading up to it, based on what's going on around the world or around the U.S. and actually have talks of more than hockey.”

“I spoke with somebody who works with some diversity law and she made a really good point to me," added Okposo. "We were speaking about all the different conversations that teams around the league are having about this topic. She said to me, ‘I know you have empathy’ and I’m capable of that and I have empathy for my teammate, for Boosh in this situation, this situation that he’s in. But think about it. If there’s a closeted gay member of a team, and you have to have empathy for that person too in that situation, and that really struck a chord with me because we have to realize that. And that’s part of being accepting. That's why we want to be accepting. That's why we want to be open. That's why we want to be able to have these conversations."

Some players may choose to use the rainbow colored Pride tape on their sticks, which would also be auctioned off to raise money.

The Sabres in a statement released before the game acknowledged “general threats to certain players,” but added in part: "We continue to advocate for under-represented groups in hockey and hope that our Pride Night, like many across the league, sparks meaningful conversations and encourages support for the LGBTQIA+ community within the sport of hockey and our city.”