courtesy of the nhl
For the second time in three years, the NHL and Adidas have unveiled Reverse Retro jerseys for all 32 of the league’s teams, and this year’s editions are heavy on nostalgia for the 1990s. About half the clubs will utilize a style from that era, including the New York Islanders, which are bringing back the fisherman they unveiled in 1995-96 to much derision and mostly abandoned two years later, but which has since become a classic among some of their fans.
The entire collection of retro jerseys is intended to put a modern spin on vintage looks from each team’s history, while growing the massive success of the first edition from the 2020-21 season. Indeed, the release date for the first round of Reverse Retro jerseys — Dec. 1, 2020 — was the second-biggest sales day in the history of the league’s online store.
With fans back in arenas, the league expects clubs to sell even more Reverse Retro-themed merchandise. “We tried to make sure we had toques, knit hats, sweatshirts and stuff like that, that there was a little bit of a broader assortment” than just jerseys, said Brian Jennings, NHL chief brand officer and senior executive vice president.
Teams will wear their Reverse Retro jerseys between two and eight times each, starting on Nov. 2 when the Penguins and Sabers face off.
Unlike similar leaguewide uniform concepts in other leagues, such as MLB’s City Connect and the NBA’s City Edition jerseys, the Reverse Retro features a simultaneous drop of uniforms for all 32 franchises. Jennings said this helps create additional buzz around the launch. “I think that is what gets the fans’ discussions and debates going and the excitement that creates that social and cultural relevance that we want to have,” Jennings said.