The NHL published the designs of its long-anticipated Reverse Retro jersey line on Monday. Each team is taking a beloved former jersey from its past and flipping the colors for a fresh new look next season.
The line is highlighted by the Carolina Hurricanes who are bringing the Hartford Whalers back (again), the Colorado Avalanche’s Quebec Nordiques tribute, the Anaheim Ducks’ Mighty Ducks sweater, and the official return of the New York Rangers’ Statue of Liberty logo. The best jersey of them all might be the Arizona Coyotes’ purple sweater featuring the Kachina Coyotes logo and a desert landscape at the waist.
All 31 NHL teams will wear these sweaters at least once next season. They will be available for purchase by the public on December 1.
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Anaheim Ducks (1995)
The Anaheim Ducks Reverse Retro jersey is a sleek white, teal, and black. According to the team, the sweater is a spin on the club’s first alternate sweater worn during the 1995-96 season which features a cartoon duck breaking through a sheet of ice. The numbers and names are also done in a cartoon-y font. The shoulder patch is the team’s old duckbilled goalie mask logo.
Arizona Coyotes (1999)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
This one is a stunner. The Coyotes purple Reverse Retro jersey is based on the team’s green third jersey that was worn from 1999-2003. The deep purple color is sampled from the team’s old crescent moon logo. It features the large Peyote Coyote head from the Kachina logo on the crest. At the waist of the jersey, there’s a desert scene at night with two saguaro cacti in the foreground and the Coyote moon rising over the desert mountain landscape. A “desert-dwelling nocturnal lizard known as the gecko” is the shoulder patch.
Boston Bruins (1988, 1990)
The Boston Bruins’ gold Reverse Retro jersey is a remix of the team’s classic white home uniform it wore at the Boston Garden for 15 years and features the traditional Spoked-B on the crest. The B’s are also bringing back their ridiculous old bear logo on the shoulder.
Buffalo Sabres (2000)
Buffalo is going white, roy blue, and gold with its sweaters. The jerseys are inspired by the team’s red alternate sweater introduced during the 2000-01 season and worn through 2005-06. The crest is two sabers in a circle while the shoulder features the old Charging Buffalo logo.
Calgary Flames (1998)
The Flames are already going “Full Retro” with their home and away jerseys next season so they are utilizing their fire-breathing horse logo which they first rocked in 1998. According to the team, the stallion is known as ‘Ol’ Blasty.’ The black jerseys feature yellow and red stripes.
Carolina Hurricanes (1979)
The Hurricanes are embracing their Hartford Whalers past again and will wear grey jerseys for the first time in team history. Pucky the Whale adorns both shoulders and the iconic Whalers logo is the crest. The jersey also features green, blue, and white stripes.
Chicago Blackhawks (1940)
The Blackhawks’ Reverse Retro jersey is inspired by its white sweater from 1940 and will be all black. The video appears to obstruct the team logo and there is no press release on the team’s site. According to the NHL, the white alternate design that this sweater draws from was worn from 1937-55 when the Blackhawks had their famous barber pole-striped jerseys for their primary uniform.
Colorado Avalanche (1979)
The Avalanche’s Reverse Retro sweaters are Quebec Nordiques-inspired. The iconic Nordiques igloo logo is on the crest and is in the Avs’ colors. The waist and shoulder features the fleur-de-lis which is modeled from Quebec’s provincial flag.
Columbus Blue Jackets (2000)
The Columubs Blue Jackets will wear a primarily red jersey for the first time in team history.
Red, White & Blue, the colors represented on the state flag of Ohio, have served as the Blue Jackets’ primary colors since the club’s inception. This Reverse Retro jersey, however, marks the team’s first primarily red jersey and features the original CBJ crest worn from 2000-07. The jersey features white piping around the neck that extends from the shoulders to the top of each sleeve, where a patch of blue resides containing four white stars. The bottom of the red jersey is white with blue and white piping. The jersey also includes shoulder patches featuring the club’s secondary cannon logo.
The CBJ ligature served as the club’s primary logo from 2000-07 and tied the theme of tradition and history to the modern day. It features a star-studded ribbon unfurled in the shape of the team’s initials, CBJ, with an electric green hockey stick cutting through the center to represent the “J.” The 13 stars represent each of the original 13 U.S. colonies and signify patriotism. The star on top of the stick signifies Columbus as the state capital of Ohio.
Dallas Stars (1999)
The Stars’ Reverse Retro jerseys are white and feature silver accents. After introducing new Blackout jerseys with neon green highlights as their main alternate in late October, the Stars are going the complete opposite route with these sweaters.
Detroit Red Wings (1998)
The Red Wings’ Reverse Retro jersey is about as simple as it gets. It features the team’s logo on white with a grey stripe at the elbow and at the waist. According to the NHL, the jersey was inspired by the sweaters the Red Wings won their ninth Stanley Cup Championship with and the Centennial Classic jerseys.
Edmonton Oilers (1979)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Oilers are going a sleek white and orange flipping their inaugural blue jerseys in the NHL. This marks the first time the Oilers have ever worn an orange yoke on a white jersey.
Florida Panthers (1996)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Panthers are going navy in their Reverse Retro jersey and honoring the squad that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. The shoulder patch is a palm tree logo. The sweater features gold, white, and red pointed stripes. This is a good look.
Los Angeles Kings (1989)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Kings are returning to purple and gold for their Reverse Retro jersey and honoring The Great One in the process.
First, the crest of the jersey pays homage to the 1989-1990 season when Wayne Gretzky broke the NHL record for most points ever, passing Gordie Howe’s 1,850 points. Gretzky did so on Oct. 15, 1989 with a third period goal against the Edmonton Oilers, backhanding a puck in on the Kings current Goalie Coach, Bill Ranford.
The second tribute to the Kings Reverse Retro jersey, completing the new look is the Kings original colors of LA Kings Forum Blue and Gold. Both the design and colors of the uniform commend the Kings history in the 60’s and 70’s, while also highlighting a color combination favorite among the Los Angeles sports fans.
Minnesota Wild (1978)
The Minneosta Wild’s Reverse Retro jersey combines the team’s logo with the Minnesota North Stars’ green and gold colors from 1978. The jersey also features “era-specific drop-shadow numbers.” This is the second time the team has embraced the North Stars. In 2017, the Wild wore North Stars’ retro jerseys during warmups.
Montreal Canadiens (1976)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Montreal Canadiens are going blue for their sweater.
The Canadiens’ jersey is inspired by the color that marked the team’s first sweater in 1909 and the actual design worn from 1974-2007, during which time the club won six Stanley Cups. On the neckline is the number 76, representing the year in which the Habs both won the first of these championships and also embarked on the greatest season in team history, 1976-77, when the club posted a 60-8-12 record to set an NHL record for points in a campaign en route to yet another title.
Nashville Predators (1998)
The Preds are going full mustard and flipping their inaugural navy jerseys from 1998. “The speed nicks in the numbers, striping pattern, silver touches, and remastered crest all pay homage to the original Preds jersey, while the bold, GOLD body offers a new interpretation of the design,” the Predators wrote in a release.
New Jersey Devils (1982)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
Christmas colors are coming back to Newark as the Devils will rock green and red jerseys reversed from their inaugural ditties in 1982. The team has no shoulder patch. This jersey marks the first time the Devils will be wearing a primarily green jersey. According to the NHL, the red signifies the mythical Jersey Devil and the green represents the Pine Barrens in which it was said to live.
New York Islanders (1980)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Islanders’ Reverse Retro jersey honors their dynasty team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups beginning in 1980. The jerseys are navy blue and feature large white and orange stripes. Take a closer look here.
New York Rangers (1996)
This jersey is an absolute beauty. The Rangers’ Reverse Retro jerseys will be navy blue and feature red lettering and grey outlines. Inspired by the team’s 1996 alternate uniform, the Rangers brought back the Statue of Liberty logo. That season also marked Wayne Gretzky’s first season in the Big Apple.
Ottawa Senators (1992)
The Senators are bringing back their inaugural jersey but flipping it to new colors. For the Senators, that’s a sleek red and black look.
Philadelphia Flyers (1995)
The Philadelphia Flyers’ Reverse Retro jersey honors the Legion of Doom line (Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg), which was put together for the first time in 1995. The Flyers took the jersey they wore then and flipped it to orange and black.
Pittsburgh Penguins (1997)
The Penguins’ Reverse Retro jerseys are subtractive, nearly all white, and feature the team’s city, PITTSBURGH, written in a diagonal line down the crest.
While the Penguins wore black jerseys with the diagonal “PITTSBURGH” text from 1992-97, the 2020-21 version will feature the same script, but will be on a white uniform, signifying a “reverse” take on the classic throwback.
The last time Penguins fans saw jerseys with a diagonal city script, they were being worn by NHL greats such as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Larry Murphy. Now, fans will get to see three-time Stanley Cup champions Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang represent the city of Pittsburgh in these unique throwback uniforms.
San Jose Sharks (1998)
The Sharks are going grey and teal, a twist on their jerseys from 1998, with large black and white stripes. Throw this thing in a dumpster. It’s hideous. The logo on grey looks great, but everything else is questionable.
St. Louis Blues (1995)
It’s confirmed. The St. Louis Blues are going red and bringing back the trumpet logo on the shoulder. This design is a play off the striping from these jerseys worn in 1995.
The jersey completely flips the colors used on the team’s sweater worn in the late 1990s by Blues legends such as Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, and Grant Fuhr. The new jersey features a bold red as its predominant color. The stripes – which were red on the original jersey that was first revealed in 1995 – are now yellow, and the club’s traditional blue now appears on the sleeves and along the jersey’s base.
The ’90s iteration of the Blue Note remains unchanged.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2004)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Bolts are going a bold navy blue with big black and white victory stripes. The jersey is inspired by 2004 – the first year they won the Stanley Cup. The original Lightning logo with scripting and it’s Florida logo shoulder patch is back.
Toronto Maple Leafs (1979)
The Maplpe Leafs are going blue and grey with an 11-point maple leaf on their crest. 1970 is the first year the Leafs introduced this logo.
Vancouver Canucks (2001)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Canucks’ Reverse Retro jerseys feature a blue and green gradient. The aggressive white stripes really full this aggressive design together. Read more about what inspired the team’s jersey on the Canucks website.
Vegas Golden Knights (1995)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Vegas Golden Knights’ Reverse Retro jersey is inspired by the hockey team’s that came before it. The Knights jersey is red and features the team’s secondary logo, the sword star, on the crest.
Inspired by the pioneers of hockey in the desert, the Golden Knights Reverse Retro jersey pays homage to the teams and players that paved the way in Vegas while breaking new ground for the Knights. The red color is a reference to the Wranglers, who played in Vegas from 2003-2014. The striping is inspired by the Thunder, whose V-for-Vegas body stripes graced the strip from 1993-1999. The year ’95 appears in the back neck to commemorate the Thunder’s best season in 1995-1996 and Manon Rheaume, the first woman to play in the NHL, who wore the Thunder’s V-stripes during the 1994-95 season.
No VGK jersey would be complete without something new. This will be the first time Vegas wears completely new stripes, not just recolored versions of their existing striping. It will be the first time they wear a red jersey and it will be the first time their beloved secondary mark appears as a jersey crest. It is a tribute to the pioneers of the past in a sparkling new sweater for the future. A combination that can only be seen in Vegas.
Washington Capitals (1997)
The Washington Capitals brought back the Screaming Eagle on red. Read the full details on RMNB.
Winnipeg Jets (1979)
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2020
The Jets are going a muddy dark grey and flipping their inaugural jerseys in the NHL.
The Reverse Retro jersey combines the classic style with the team’s current colorway. A throw back to 1979 honoring the Jets’ first year in the league. This remixed design integrates the iconic heritage plane crest with the bold “Winnipeg” lettering. Remastered in fighter grey this jersey takes the classic heritage look that the 1980’s era Jets – including legend Dale Hawerchuk – wore and gives it a modern twist.
These new sweaters will be available to varying degrees on December 1. Some are already available for preorder.
More from the NHL:
adidas and the NHL unveil ‘Reverse Retro’ Alternate Jerseys for all 31 Teams
Portland, Oregon / New York (November 16, 2020): adidas and the National Hockey League (NHL®) today unveiled the adidas Reverse Retro ADIZERO Authentic jerseys for all 31 NHL® teams to be worn next season – marking the first time in League history that all 31 teams have participated in a League-wide alternate jersey program. adidas worked closely with the NHL® and each team to design a Reverse Retro jersey representing unique and historical moments in each club’s history, while refreshing the color and design combination for an all-new presentation.
The adidas Reverse Retro program creates a new formula to showcase the passion of the fans. The overarching design theme during adidas’ two-year-long process was to mine each team’s jersey archive and team colors, remixing them to create something new and never seen before. With that in mind, adidas created uniquely distinct and desirable jerseys that incorporated inverted team colors.
“Hockey fans love retro jerseys and Reverse Retro is a great opportunity for adidas to work closely with the NHL and all 31 teams to bring back a design from a meaningful point in team history with a unique twist,” said Dan Near, Senior Director at adidas Hockey. “Our goal from day one has been to work with the NHL and all of the teams to bring creativity, innovation, and energy to the sport with all that we do. What better way to do that than to bring together the nostalgia of historical moments in each team’s history with something new via designs that have never been seen before in the sport.”
Brian Jennings, NHL Chief Brand Officer and Senior Executive Vice President added, “NHL team jerseys have long carried deep historical significance for avid and casual hockey fans. Through the years, the design of each team jersey has evolved to balance history and authenticity with cultural touchpoints. The Reverse Retro program is a celebration of the hockey jersey’s confluence of nostalgia, style and broad appeal. As a brand, adidas sits at the epicenter of youth, sports and lifestyle and is the ideal partner for this exciting initiative.
Each team will wear the adidas Reverse Retro ADIZERO Authentic jersey in multiple games during the 2020-21 NHL® season with special head-to-head matchups featuring exciting and renewed rivalries – both old and new – the league will announce at a later date.
The adidas Reverse Retro ADIZERO Authentic jerseys for all 31 NHL® teams will be December 1 for $180-$225 in the U.S. and $200-$250 in Canada at adidas.com, adidas.ca, NHLShop.com, NHLShop.ca and team stores exclusively, with wider availability at additional retailers starting December 6. Fans outside North America will be able to purchase adidas Reverse Retro ADIZERO Authentic jerseys for all 31 NHL® teams at NHLShop.com starting Dec. 1.
Screenshots courtesy of NHL/Adidas
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