The NHL Teases New Reverse Retro Jerseys For Every Team- Part 1
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/B9nhVAyK0b
— NHL (@NHL) November 10, 2020
After months of speculation, the NHL finally confirmed that every team will be getting a reverse retro jersey next season when they posted a teaser video on November 10th. The jerseys are reportedly going to officially drop on November 16th, although the league has yet to confirm that themselves. If it’s not then, it will at least be sometime this month. But anyway, here’s a look at the first 16 teams’ (in alphabetical order) teaser video as well as a projection of what the full jersey will look like.
Anaheim Ducks
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/SaueM5rUG3
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) November 10, 2020
First up, we have the Anaheim Ducks. Reports swirled before the teaser dropped that they would be bringing back the “Wild Wing” jerseys. That has been all but confirmed, as the number on the back of the jersey in the teaser video is 95. The numbers on every jersey correspond to the year they’re throwing it back to, and back in 1995, the Ducks wore the “Wild Wing” jersey, pictured above. As we can tell from the teaser, instead of mainly teal with white stripes, it’ll be mainly white with teal stripes (which makes sense, given they’re called reverse retro jerseys).
Arizona Coyotes
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/bJl6D8tWBl
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) November 10, 2020
Next up is the Arizona Coyotes. Apparently throwing it back to 1998, it looks like the Coyotes will be bringing back something similar to their Kachina jerseys, pictured above. However, since they already have that as a third, I think the logo on the green jersey is the most likely one. As you can tell from the picture, the jersey will be purple and goldish-orange, so I’m not quite sure how that’ll look, but we’ll see I guess! It’s also possible it’s a different logo, but given the number on the jersey is seemingly referring to the year of the jersey they’re based on, I’d be a little surprised if they do.
Boston Bruins
#ReverseRetro @adidasHockey pic.twitter.com/VHQP53qOCk
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 10, 2020
Here's the Bruins' reverse retro jersey leak pic.twitter.com/FQ56Aglh5W
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 9, 2020
The Bruins reverse retro jerseys have already been leaked, and you can see them in the second embedded tweet above. They’re throwing it back to 1990 with their jersey, which you can see here. You can check out more on my thoughts and the details of these jerseys here.
Buffalo Sabres
#ReverseRetro @adidasHockey pic.twitter.com/yEPXXQDANo
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) November 10, 2020
The Sabres will be throwing it back to 2000 with their reverse retro jerseys. Those jerseys are pictured above. In all likelihood, it’ll feature the logo from the top two jerseys, as that’s the most memorable former logo of theirs. Instead of white, red, and black though, it’ll be white with blue stripes as we learned from the video. It could also be the logo on the third one, but I would be surprised to see that since it’s not a very well known one of theirs.
Calgary Flames
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/u63eu7pOAI
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) November 10, 2020
Next up is the Calgary Flames, who are throwing it back to 1998. Given the logo on the first two jerseys pictured above is basically their current one, it’s a safe bet that these reverse retro jerseys will feature the logo on the bottom one. If it is, I’m a little surprised to see them on a mostly black jersey like they were then. But, at the same time, they don’t need another red jersey in their rotation, so I get it. That may also not be the logo, although that seems unlikely. No matter what though, they should be a great look!
Carolina Hurricanes
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/4DiAaLZZmP
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) November 10, 2020
The Carolina Hurricanes are throwing it all the way back to their Whalers days with their reverse retro jerseys. They’re going to be based off the original Whalers jersey, as they’re throwing it back to the year they joined the league, which was 1979. I’m not surprised they’re doing this, as they’ve held occasional Whalers nights the past two years. It’ll be weird to see these jerseys back on the ice, but also fun!
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are going all the way back to 1940 with their reverse retro jersey. All I can say is I sincerely hope there won’t be as many stripes. I can’t imagine there will be, as it’s just not a good look. My best guess is it’ll be the logo from 1940 on a more modern-looking jersey. If it’s not, it’d be fairly reminiscent of the “jailbird jerseys” that the Canadiens wore on their 100th anniversary in 2008. Those jerseys are still the brunt of jokes today, so let’s hope the Blackhawks remember that and are smart enough to avoid it.
Colorado Avalanche
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/KKpj2U1bRC
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) November 10, 2020
As for the Colorado Avalanche, they appear to be throwing it back to their Quebec Nordiques days. They’ll be heading back to 1979 with their jersey, which is the year the Nordiques joined the NHL. I’m happy to see at least some of the teams that relocated at some point in their history throw it back to those days with these jerseys. It’s a great, fun way to honor their heritage, which is the whole point of these jerseys.
Columbus Blue Jackets
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/0NhbwALGQ7
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 10, 2020
Going back to the first year they were in the league, the Blue Jackets are basing their reverse retro jersey on the one they wore in 2000. This is unsurprising given they’ve really only had three different logos throughout their history, and the other former one is on their third jersey. I just hope it looks ok on the red jersey because it’s a mainly red logo, so it might be a little iffy. But, they obviously have something nice in mind, so I’m really interested to see it!
Dallas Stars
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/I848q0rNAh
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 10, 2020
The Dallas Stars are heading back to 1999 for their reverse retro jerseys. This isn’t exactly surprising given those jerseys had really the only other logo of theirs that a lot of people remember. I don’t think they’ll look too different from their current away jerseys other than the logo. But, I could be wrong. Either way, it should still be a nice, clean look, so I don’t think many people will complain!
Detroit Red Wings
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/vp5JXJKy8k
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 10, 2020
I must say, I’m pretty confused as to what the Red Wings are going to do with their reverse retro jerseys. According to the teaser, it looks like they’re throwing it back to 1998. But, that jersey is almost identical to their current one. So, I don’t know if maybe they’re just keeping the same logo and changing the jersey colors basically, or what they’re doing. I’m very curious to see it when it drops though!
Edmonton Oilers
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/kouUWkQ1kT
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 10, 2020
The Oilers are bringing it back to their first year in the NHL, 1979, with their reverse retro jerseys. They’ve only ever had one logo, their current one, so I’m very interested to see what they come up with to differentiate this jersey from their others. I feel like it’s going to be pretty similar to their current ones, just mainly white with orange stripes and no blue on it. But, we’ll just have to wait and see once they’re released I guess!
Florida Panthers
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/lwp867Hgci
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) November 10, 2020
For their reverse retro jersey, the Panthers are seemingly heading back to 1996. This is unsurprising given that jersey has really the only other logo the team has used that people would recognize. It’s also the most different jersey from their current one, as it has a rather bright red-orange to go along with some navy blue, as opposed to their current red and white. I’m glad the Panthers are throwing it back to this look, as I personally prefer that logo to their current one.
Los Angeles Kings
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/HsZENZDcDd
— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 10, 2020
Next up, we have the LA Kings. If the number on the back of the jersey is to be believed, they’re heading back to 1989, and you can see those jerseys above. However, the teaser reveals that they’ll have a purple and yellow jersey, which was used up until 1988. So, that’s a little confusing. But, I assume they’ll just be using the logo from 1989 on the purple and yellow jersey. This would make sense because it would make it so the reverse retro jersey isn’t identical to the actual retro jersey. But, it’s possible that number on the jersey isn’t the year they’re throwing it back to, and they use the same logo they had when they originally had the purple and yellow jerseys. However, I don’t think that’s too likely, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what they look like when they drop!
Minnesota Wild
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/KAn7Vh0igZ
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 10, 2020
The Minnesota Wild are going to have perhaps the most interesting story behind their reverse retro jerseys. They’re going back to 1978 with them. However, the Wild were an expansion team that joined the NHL in the 2000-01 season. How is that possible then, might you ask? Well, the colors on the teaser jersey are also that of the Minnesota North Stars, who relocated to Dallas for the 1993-94 season. So, it appears as though the Wild are going to throw it back to the North Stars despite not being the same franchise. This makes sense given they are both from Minnesota. However, it is a little “wild” (sorry, I had to do it) that they’ll be wearing the jersey of another franchise’s heritage.
Montreal Canadiens
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/VtWw4cApjt
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 10, 2020
Last but not least in this article, we have the Montreal Canadiens. They’re going back to 1977 with their jerseys. The Canadiens have really only used their current logo throughout their history, and even their jersey design hasn’t changed much. So, I’m not sure what exactly from the 1977-78 jersey they’ll be invoking that’ll be different. It seems like the only real difference is going to be the jersey is blue with some red instead of mainly red with some blue and a little white. But, I could be wrong here, so I’m curious to see them once they get released.
Part Two Coming Tomorrow
So, those are my thoughts and projections for the first 16 reverse retro jerseys. Overall, it seems like every team is going to do a great job with these. So, hopefully, that’s the case. Otherwise, they’re missing a huge opportunity from a marketing standpoint. We should find out soon, as every team put out little teasers again today, so it certainly seems like November 16th is the correct date they’ll be dropped. But, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens on Monday! Also, be sure to check back tomorrow for the other half of my projections for the reverse retro jerseys!
-Lydia Murray (@lydia_murray12)
Featured image courtesy of russianmachineneverbreaks.com