The Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers will play in the Stanley Cup Finals, for what is the NHL Championship. Whatever team can win four games first wins the Stanley Cup.

For many years, the NHL led major men’s pro sports in its outreach to the LGBTQ community. Working with You Can Play, which was founded in large part by current NHL executive Patrick Burke after the tragic loss of his brother, the league was viewed by many as a step ahead of the NFL, NBA and MLB.

That, of course, was undermined two years ago when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman encouraged everyone to accept homophobia. And when the league banned Pride Tape even during warm-ups, an informal poll of Outsports readers on social media found the league was suddenly viewed as the most anti-gay of all.

That was in part due to reaction from players like the Panthers’ Eric Staal and Marc Staal refusing to wear a jersey featuring the Pride rainbow.

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Yet the league has been forced to deal with very few instances of players using anti-gay slurs. To be sure, before 2010, dealing with players calling each other homophobic slurs wasn’t remotely on the radar. So before then, it could have been widespread. We don’t know.

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Since the league has engaged You Can Play and elevated the conversation about homophobic language in the locker room and on the ice, the NHL has had very few instances of this.

Though for some reason, they’ve become more elevated during the NHL Playoffs.

There was one false start, when Morgan Rielly, then a player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was accused of using an anti-gay slur. The league investigation reportedly vindicated him.

For his part, out gay AHL player Luke Prokop — signed with the Nashville Predators if he can earn an NHL spot — said a couple years ago he had not heard an anti-gay slur on the ice.

Still, some NHL players have been fined or suspended for using a gay slur:

Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks

When Andrew Shaw used the worst of the worst gay slurs during a 2016 NHL Playoffs game against the St. Louis Blues, the league took the extraordinary action of suspending Shaw for a playoff game. Shaw became a vocal advocate for the inclusion of gay athletes in sports.

Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks

When Ryan Getzlaf allegedly used an anti-gay slur during an NHL Playoffs game, the league treated him with kid gloves and fined him just $10k with no suspension. With that move, the league ushered in a new era: If you’re a big star in a Playoff game, you can call people slurs and face no suspension. “There were obviously some words said, not necessarily directed at anyone in particular, it was just kind of a comment,” Getzlaf said of his use of a slur. “I’ve got to be a little more responsible with the words I choose.” Fans raised money to pay millionaire Getzlaf’s fine.

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There have been other men in and around pro hockey who have been caught using anti-gay slurs. And to be sure, we know of only a tiny fraction of the instances.

Still, the fact that the NHL has had only two publicly known incidents can be seen as a positive reflection on the work the league has done on this issue.

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