Sharks, Senators ditch helmets for warmups in Vegas. Did they break an NHL rule? – The Athletic
LAS VEGAS — Looking to possibly change their luck against a division foe and finish off one of their best months in several seasons, the San Jose Sharks ditched their helmets for their pregame warmup skate ahead of Saturday night’s matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Other than goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and Yaroslav Askarov, for obvious safety reasons, the Sharks all left their buckets behind as they took the ice to make for an uncommon sight at T-Mobile Arena. Players going without helmets for warmups isn’t usually a team-wide event.
“It was a team decision,” Sharks forward Will Smith said after playing in his 100th career game. “It was Saturday night in Vegas, so all the guys were pretty easy (to sell on it).”
“Just to have a little bit of fun,” Nedeljkovic said. “It’s a fun city. Everyone wants to have a good time. Maybe play with a little bit of swagger. Everybody feels good with the hair flowing and all of that. I thought it was fun. Maybe we’ll do it again, who knows?”
It’s a no bucket zone 🪣⚠️ pic.twitter.com/q2SQruKtjC
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 30, 2025
Then again, maybe it isn’t so uncommon when visiting teams take on Vegas. On Wednesday, the Ottawa Senators also went lidless in warmups before their road game against the Golden Knights. If there was any correlation between the Senators doing it to change their luck at T-Mobile, it worked as they got a 4-3 shootout victory after losing a 3-1 first-period lead. Vegas had won six of seven against Ottawa at home and went 12-1-1 in 14 prior meetings since it entered the league.
“It kind of happened at the team dinner last night,” Senators center Shane Pinto said to TSN’s Kenzie Lalonde after the first period on Wednesday’s game. “We just decided to do it. It was pretty cool to do.”
“It was just a little discussion over a team dinner last night,” Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson said to Lalonde after the second period. “We’ll see if it happens in the future.”
Weren’t you at the Knights game vs Ottawa on Wednesday?
Sens started a new trend 😉 your welcome
— David Perron (@DP_57) November 30, 2025
It isn’t clear what exactly led to the Sharks’ decision to let their hair flow as a collective unit. But they came into Saturday with a nine-game winless streak against Vegas dating back to their last victory, a 4-3 overtime triumph at home on March 30, 2023. The first meeting between the teams this season saw Vegas pull out an improbable 4-3 win in San Jose on misplays by Nedeljkovic that resulted in goals near the end of regulation and in overtime.
But what might have been seen as an act of team bonding by the Sharks could potentially be viewed differently by the NHL. The league added a requirement during the 2023-24 season to mandate helmets in warmups. That change — which applies to anyone joining the league in 2019-20 or later — is officially part of the rulebook.
Rule 9.6 states that “it is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”
The Athletic has reached out to the league for comment.
Now, is the tradition of young players making their NHL debuts by skating without their helmets for their rookie lap exempt from the rule? Teammates around the league continue to uphold that practice, hiding the buckets of their players that are having their big moment.
On Saturday, the Sharks lost 4-3 to the Golden Knights and now have a 12-11-3 record after starting the season without a victory in their first six games (0-4-2).
