The Washington Capitals are retiring their navy blue alternate jerseys after the 2023-24 season.
The Capitals revealed the news indirectly when they released their 2023-24 promotion schedule.
There, the Capitals said they will be holding an W logo t-shirt giveaway for all fans in its game against the Boston Bruins to “celebrate the final night of the Blue W jerseys.”
March 30 vs. BOS
Blue W T-shirt GiveawayCome celebrate the final night of the Blue W jerseys! After four seasons of rocking the blue, every fan in attendance will receive a Blue W t-shirt to bring home as the Capitals face the Boston Bruins.
The Capitals first released the navy blue W sweater in 2021, which was inspired by the team’s design for the 2018 Stadium Series game. The W crest logo features the top of the Washington Monument illustrated in its middle ascender while the three red stars above the W represent Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia.
The Capitals have worn the sweater (by my personal math through press releases) 30 times since over the last three seasons, rocking navy blue in seven games during the 2020-21 season, 13 games in 2021-22, and 10 games in 2022-23. When the team first unveiled the design, they planned to only wear it three years.
The Capitals’ sweater news comes as Adidas goes into its final season as manufacturer of NHL jerseys, giving way to mega-retailer Fanatics in 2024-25. After wearing five different jersey designs last season, the Capitals will go with three this season, opting to wear its classic red and whites featuring the Capitals wordmark along with the W alternate.
The Capitals will not wear its wildly popular Screaming Eagle Reverse Retro jersey this season — an Alex Ovechkin favorite — as the NHL is ending its Reverse Retro program. The sidelining of the navy blue jersey would allow for the return of the Screagle in 2024-25 — just in time for Ovechkin to possibly challenge Wayne Gretzky for the NHL goals record — if the Capitals so choose.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
