The NHL has released its latest set of Reverse Retro jerseys, which means it’s time to overreact online. To be fair, more teams than usual are coming out of the park in these uniforms, but there are still some stinkers out there.
As we all know, nostalgia is a very powerful agent, and the common thread running through the big winners in this Reverse Retro jersey series was that they all played the hits. Now is not the time to make deep cuts or try to reinvent the wheel.
The teams that failed in this last exercise tried to do too much – or apparently didn’t do much at all. Yet these were somewhat few and far between.
Good
Florida Panthers
The Panthers are one of the few teams to have crushed both versions Reverse Retro jerseys. Using sky blue as the main color was a great idea, and the palm tree-hockey stick combo was an underrated secondary logo for years. Once the Panthers take the ice in these, it will no longer be underestimated.
Vancouver Canucks
I’m a sucker for a hockey logo in which the mascot actually plays hockey. The Canucks delivered on that front and gave me a fantastic color game. The number on the front of the jersey may bother some, but not me. All I see is a cool lumberjack playing puck.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers have a classic logo, but I have a thing for the frozen oil drop. I think it’s fun, and Edmonton was able to update it a bit by adding a little orange in there. It was an easy win, and the Oilers didn’t spoil it.
Colorado avalanche
The Avs are another team with two great Reverse Retro looks. They have a lot of good material to work with between the Quebec Nordiques and the Colorado State flag. That said, the Avalanche still performed well, and I think this jersey will look great when they drop six goals on their opponent.
Pittsburgh Penguins
I prefer the current Penguins logo (see: Vancouver Canucks), but the realistic penguin isn’t bad at all. Besides, any logo worn by Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux will bring back a flood of nostalgia. Beyond the logo, it’s just a pointy jersey.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings have some of the worst regular jerseys in the NHL, but their stable of substitutes compares to that of any other team. They added to this the new Reverse Retro look. The crown is a good logo, but the purple and yellow color scheme takes it to another level. Just make them the permanent uniforms of the road.
New Jersey Devils
These don’t get me into the holiday spirit like the Devils’ first Reverse Retro jersey, but this one also stands out as one of the best. New Jersey has an iconic logo, so no need to change anything up there, and the Rockies colors work for me. If the Reverse Retro series has taught us anything, it’s when in doubt, turn to the team you robbed in another city.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets may well come back to this every time they create a new alternate jersey, and I’m going to love it every time. The retro logo in current colors gives Winnipeg an icy look, and it will be especially striking during whiteouts at Canada Life Centre.
bison sabers
The buffalo head isn’t quite as intimidating without the red and black color scheme, but the Sabers actually embraced the spirit of the Reverse Retro concept. They brought back an old look with a modern twist. They get points for it, and the buffalo head remains one of my favorite ridiculous logos in all of sports.
Boston Bruins
The Pooh Bear logo is one of the most polarizing in the NHL, and frankly, it looks pretty bad on its own. However, the whole thing comes together in such an absurd way that it works. Also, if a team just recreates a jersey that was popular when I was young, they have me on the hook. If you felt a theme running through these rankings, that’s it.
St. Louis Blues
I can’t help loving everything the Blues do with their uniforms. Their color scheme is among the NHL’s elite and their retro look always seems to land. This jersey does the trick, and I like to use yellow as the primary color to change things up a bit.
Montreal Canadiens
It’s really just the usual Canadiens jersey in different colors, but two things make it acceptable to me. For starters, these are the colors of the Montreal Expos, which makes this very cool. Second, the dusty blue is fantastic. Montreal went easy, and it paid off.
Washington Capitals
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a hypocrite. Later in these rankings, I’ll blame other teams for taking their last Reverse Retro jersey and just changing colors. The Capitals have done it here, but this jersey is gorgeous, and that outweighs their laziness.
New York Rangers
Lady Liberty jerseys are some of my favorite substitutes in NHL history. Rangers went that route on their first Reverse Retro jersey, but they kind of spoiled it by going dark navy everywhere except for the three stripes on the arm. This time they brightened up the blue and used more red in the innings, and they hit a home run.
New York Islanders
I don’t have to look past the logo to know I love these Islanders jerseys. People wanted fish sticks. They gave us fish sticks. After completely botching their first Reverse Retro uniform, the Isles have absolutely redeemed themselves.
Nashville Predators
Let me take off my objective journalist hat and put it aside for this one. The Mustard Cat was widely criticized when it debuted in 2001, and I defended it until the day it was retired and beyond. This jersey has become a cult classic in Nashville, and now a new generation will fall in love with the high fashion that is the mustard cat.
Calgary flames
It’s getting hate online, and I’m not sure why. Of course, I was hoping for a white Blasty jersey with retro colors, but I love this look too. Plus, it gives me Zebra Stripe vibes, and it’s a quality eraser.
The bad
Toronto Maple Leafs
This jersey looks fantastic. That’s wonderful. This might be my favorite that Toronto has released in a while. That said, there’s not a whole lot of Reverse Retro out there. I feel like the Maple Leafs got around the task here, so I have to take points off for not taking a bigger swing.
Anaheim Ducks
Speaking of teams with good jerseys being punished, the Ducks gave us a white Mighty Ducks jersey with their current disgusting color scheme. They already have one in orange, and while I love this one even more, Anaheim is late until it fully embraces its powerful roots.
San Jose Sharks
When I heard that the Sharks were going to adopt a California Golden Seals theme, I was very excited. Then they debuted, and I was a little disappointed. I wanted to like them, but I can’t for some reason. Maybe it’s the underarm scratches.
Vegas Golden Knights
These are far from the worst jerseys that have been unveiled today, but I think the diagonal lettering jumped the shark with CANES (more on that later). Now the Rangers and Penguins are the only teams capable of making diagonal letters. Vegas has a decent alternate logo. Just hit that in the middle of the jersey.
Arizona Coyotes
I love that the Coyotes went back to their kachina jerseys, and I really liked their latest Reverse Retro look. However, they just took that one and made it worse. The lack of purple in favor of a more realistic desert look is what makes this jersey sink in my eyes.
Dallas Stars
This is an upgrade from the Stars’ latest Reverse Retro jerseys, but it still sits somewhere in the bottom half of the league. I like the old logo, but it was missing something, and at first I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I realized that Dallas had made a major mistake by not making the star-shaped stripes and edging of the jersey like they had in the past.
Carolina Hurricanes
Essentially, the Canes have already taken their bad road jersey and made it a home jersey. Carolina followed the formula of calling back the team you robbed last time, and it worked. The Hurricanes decided to forge their own path this time, and it took them off a cliff.
Minnesota Wild
Did you love the original Reverse Retro jersey from the Wild? Do you want the exact same thing in green? We have the shirt for you.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators have already returned to that logo full-time, and they have a black home jersey. Ottawa just added worse numbers and obnoxious scratches.
Philadelphia Flyers
Every year it seems like a team forgot they had to return a new jersey and just threw something together at the last minute. This time it was the Flyers. Looks like a basic road jersey, but I have to give them credit for adding Cooperalls to the set for warm ups.
The ugly one
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning went there in the old storm uniform. I appreciate that they are bold and swing for the fences. That’s more than I can say for the other teams on this list. However, it is a bad jersey. It always reminded me of a roller hockey uniform, and nothing will ever change that.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Talk about a team that needs a rebrand. I feel for Adidas here because the Blue Jackets have a lower tier NHL logo. Columbus already has an incredibly poor home jersey, and it hasn’t improved it one bit.
Seattle Kraken
The Kraken have all 87 games in history, so they didn’t have much to work with on this one. The team recalled the Seattle Ironmen with the two-tone look, but give me something more. Use the alternate logo. Give me a full kraken. On the bright side, the Kraken already have some of the best uniforms in the league. Keep wearing them.
Chicago Blackhawks
Where are the Blackhawks from? Oh yeah…
Detroit Red Wings
Where are the Red Wings from? Oh yeah…
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