Ranking all the NHL's Reverse Retro jerseys
Adidas has released each NHL team's reverse retro jersey. Let's look at the good, the bad, and the cringey
Adidas has released their reverse retro jerseys for every NHL team. Great timing too, as we’re all looking for new jerseys. Fashion is my self-proclaimed area of expertise*, so here are my totally correct and not at all wrong rankings.
*I’m not actually a fashion expert, but I do watch a bunch of Queer Eye, so please read this article in Tan’s adorable British accent.
Elite Tier
Los Angeles Kings - Without question the best reverse retro look. It’s not even close. The Kings never should have abandoned their purple and gold scheme. You can’t go wrong with black and white, but now the Kings are back on top of the NHL’s “best color scheme” list.
Arizona Coyotes - The logo is perfection. And I love the new color scheme. The background is a unique purple and I think it makes the desert colors pop. Props to the Coyotes for somehow improving an already excellent Peyote Coyote logo.
Minnesota Wild - While the Wild didn’t change their logo, they’re going back to the Minnesota North Stars strong color scheme. Green and yellow is a very underrated scheme if done correctly, and the Wild certainly did it correctly.
New Jersey Devils - The New Jersey Devils had the easiest choice of all the teams. They went that route, going back to their classic “Christmas” look. The Devils spruced it up a bit too.
Colorado Avalanche - Oh my goodness.
Great Tier
Calgary Flames - They’re bringing back Blasty! I don’t like the weird stripes. But I’m all about Blasty being back and the color scheme is awesome.
Montreal Canadiens - The Canadiens didn’t have too many choices because their color scheme and logo haven’t really changed much over the years. But I love what they did with it. Has a very nice old-time feel to it with a strong blue and red color scheme.
Nashville Predators - Hard for them to do much, but they went back to their less obnoxious yellow and white color scheme. Their current one is way too yellow. Love the logo on the shoulders.
Boston Bruins - Lose the meth addict bear logo on the shoulders, replace it with the friendly brown pooh bear, and this is an elite look.
Buffalo Sabres - Should have gone with the Buffa-slug look, but this one is terrific as well. Would have loved to have seen this with their blue and gold color scheme, but I like it a lot in white.
Carolina Hurricanes - Hold on, let’s set the mood.
There we go.
I’ve been a vocal critic of the Hurricanes stealing the Whalers history after they literally unretired Gordie Howe’s number when they moved to Carolina. I mean, how do you do that? But these are pretty sweet.
Very Good Tier
Washington Capitals - The one thing I never liked about the screaming eagle jerseys was the color scheme. This color scheme is badass. I’m not a big fan of the low writing on the jersey and the “C” is obnoxiously large, but other than that, these are pretty fresh.
Ottawa Senators - I like the 2D look. Not a big fan of of the stripes, though, especially the ones on the sleeves. Remove the stripes from the sleeves and this one is elite.
Good Tier
St. Louis Blues - Red, but not too red.
Florida Panthers - I like the color scheme. It makes the logo pop a little bit, which is pretty cool because it makes the panther look like it’s jumping out at you. But… what’s with the sleeves?
Vancouver Canucks - They deserve to be roasted for not going with the Skate jerseys, but this one’s solid.
Tampa Bay Lightning - Very easy choice for them.
Edmonton Oilers - Don’t like the orange numbers, but I like everything else. Sort of looks like a creamsicle, and I like creamsicles.
New York Rangers - I’ve always been a fan of their Lady Liberty logo. Wish they would have done something different with it, though. Maybe see how it looks with a red or white background?
Mediocre Tier
Philadelphia Flyers - It’s almost impossible to screw up a black and orange color scheme. The Flyers nearly managed to do it.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Why not go with a powder blue scheme? The diagonal Pittsburgh logo was cool, but it looked best in black. Not so much with white.
Columbus Blue Jackets - The logo is fine, but the color scheme is a bit odd.
Winnipeg Jets - They had the opportunity to bring back any number of awesome color schemes. Heck, they could have gotten lazy and gone back to their Atlanta Thrasher days. But no, they went with whatever this is.
Awful Tier
Toronto Maple Leafs - This looks like a cheap knockoff jersey.
Vegas Golden Knights - Way too much red.
Dallas Stars - I don’t mind their all white jersey. But they’ll be wearing it with white pants too! Good way to camouflage yourself on ice, bad way to look good.
Anaheim Ducks - Holy crap you cowards, embrace your roots! Go with the look from D2. I respect the boldness, but it’s still simply not good at all.
San Jose Sharks - Any Sharks jersey that isn’t white, teal, or black stinks.
Why Even Bother Tier
New York Islanders - If you’re going to make a retro jersey, you’d better make sure it’s unique. This one is not unique. Go back to the Fishermen logo, you cowards.
Detroit Red Wings - Looks like a crappy practice jersey.
Shameful Tier
Chicago Blackhawks - Come the heck on. Change the racist logo. I like the color scheme, but as long as they have a racist logo, I’m going to hate their jerseys.