Ranking the Reverse Retro jerseys in the Pacific Division
The Pacific Division’s Reverse Retro jerseys are the best around.
Subjectively speaking, the Pacific Division may be the sharpest dressed in the NHL.
Will I get some pushback for that statement? Eh, maybe so, but really think about it, is there a single bad look in the bunch?
Sure, one could quibble over whether the ‘new’ Anaheim Ducks logo is as cool as their former look, if red is the right color for the Arizona Coyotes, or whether or not Blasty deserves a return over the flaming C of Calgary, but without throwing any other teams under the bus, it’s safe to say the NHL’s westernmost division knows how to put together a good ‘fit.
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With that in mind, should we really be all that surprised that when the league announced their latest endeavor into fashion, the Reverse Retro jersey, that all eight members of the West are very well represented?
Seriously, there isn’t a single bad, or even meh jersey in the bunch, with all eight serving as solid additions to anyone with a spare $180 (at minimum) lying around.
But which one is best? Well, if you want yet another opinion on the subject, who am I to argue? I mean, you did click on this article expecting… something, right? Why not give the people what they want.
If the Vegas Golden Knights were a college student, they’d just be realizing that maybe they should have taken one of those summer internships after all.
With only three full years of history under their ‘franchisanal’ belt, it’s borderline impossible for the Golden Knights to put together a legitimate retro jersey of any kind. I know 2017 feels like a lifetime ago, especially when you factor in the seemingly endless dredge that is 2020, but in actuality, the only substantive change Vegas has made to their hockey team is its name, which happened very early on in the process.
Therefore, the Golden Knights had to look a little further into the past to find a viable vintage look, and the results, to be fair, are pretty good.
Inspired by the Wranglers, who played in Vegas from 2003-2014 and the Thunder, who “graced the strip from 1993-1999”, the jersey is a tad too ‘Captain Marvel’ for my tastes, but then again, maybe you’re a fan of Carol Danvers, so who am I to judge?
With cool gold detailing and sweet badges on the shoulders, this is definitely a great jersey, even if it’s not technically a ‘legit’ retro.
The Edmonton Oilers‘ jersey is, in fact, a retro jersey; it’s also relatively similar to their current away jersey.
While personally, I kind of dig the minimalistic look, orange shoulders, and white halo-ed letters, some have suggested that there are simply too many stripes on the jersey, and once you see that, it’s hard to unsee it.
Maybe if the Oilers would have taken a page out of the Anaheim Ducks’ playbook – more on them later – and gone with a surreal take on featuring their ‘Rigger‘ they’d land a bit higher on the list, but personally, I find this a great look for fans of Edmonton but nothing ‘must-have’ like, say the New Jersey Devils’ Christmas sweater, um, sweater.
First and foremost, I want to get this out of the way: I think the San Jose Sharks may have the coolest logo in the NHL.
It’s perfectly retro without being dated, and the kind of vintage staple I explicitly seak out while thrifting. I live in Pennsylvania, so nothing yet, but maybe one day I’ll finally find one.
With that being said, this jersey is just okay.
Sure, that beautiful, perfect logo is still there, but it’s sitting on a rather meh grey jersey with only minor color breaks on the sleaves and at the bottom. Had the Sharks gone full-on 90s a la their neighbors over in Arizona, this might have been a real contender for the number one spot, but instead, it’s a middle-of-the-pack option for Sharks fans looking to add some new color to their wardrobe. And as for me? Well, my search continues.
The Vancouver Canucks jersey is exactly what I was hoping to see from the San Jose Sharks. It’s colorful, bold, and features a wonderful two-tone fade the likes of which you see on jerseys far too infrequently across the world of sports.
With that in mind, going with the modern Canucks logo just feels sort of like a missed opportunity.
Now I’m not suggesting the team needed to go full-on ‘Johnny Canuck‘ with this special alternative jersey – okay, maybe I am… – but why not throw things back to 1992 and really give fans something old, but also new?
The jersey is still great, but oh boy, it could have been so much cooler.
https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1328352164670963712?s=20
This is the first jersey I would consider elite.
Is it revolutionary? No, it’s actually not all too dissimilar from many a Calgary Flames jersey from the years of yore but marks the triumphant return of Blasty after far too many years away from the rink.
Could the jersey be improved upon? Sure. It would have been incredibly cool to see flaming A of an assistant captain on the jersey versus the far more traditional C of a captain, but honestly, that’s about it.
If this jersey does well, maybe Blasty will rear his flaming head a bit more often in the future, but if not, at least this current generation of fans got a chance to see it in stores and on ice in 2021.
This is a good jersey.
Not only is it a beautiful homage to the Anaheim Ducks‘ ‘Mightier’ days of yore, but it also features a nice tip of the cap to Wildwing, the goalie/leader from Disney’s The Mighty Ducks cartoon series; the most bizarre cyberpunk future offshoot of a professional hockey team named after a children’s movie in NHL history.
With a throwback look, shoulder badges and all, used as a base, the jersey features hand drawn-looking lettering/numbers, and a cartoon, anthropomorphic duck goalie bursting through the ice to… what? Block a shot? Fight crime? It’s weird, it doesn’t make sense, and honestly, I love it.
Buy whatever the heck this jersey is and wear it forever.
https://twitter.com/ArizonaCoyotes/status/1328352506154422274?s=20
If 2021 really is the final year the Arizona Coyotes are a member of the Pacific Division – which it is, assuming the league doesn’t go full-on realignment – at least the team is going out with arguably their best look, period.
Featuring the throwback depiction of Howler, geckos on the sleeves, and a desert landscape under a purple sky, this jersey is retro, vintage, hype, and classic.
Is it better than the team’s modern jerseys? Yes. Is it better than the OG kachina-style jerseys the team wore from 1996-2003? Yes, it’s better than those too.
Again, I can’t overstate just how cool these jerseys are and how deeply I wish the team would switch to them full time. With how bad the Coyotes have been as of late, these at very least would get fans to tune in night-in and night-out to check them out.
There’s no doubt about it; the Los Angeles Kings have the coolest Reverse Retro jersey in the Pacific Division – maybe the NHL as a whole – and frankly, I’m surprised.
Splitting the difference between the Wayne Gretsky-era Black and White jerseys aesthetic and the color scheme of the pre-Raiders, pre-NWA, pre-1988
purple
‘forum blue’, and gold color scheme the team used to basically share with their Los Angeles counterparts, the Lakers, this is how you do a Reverse Retro look – a term I’d never heard before today.
Again, much like the Coyotes, the Kings probably aren’t going to be challenging for the Cup anytime soon. But this look will get fans in LA, a notoriously wishy-washy sports city, to show up – digitally, of course – to watch their team play.
These are showtime, these are Hollywood, and these are the best Reverse Retros on the market today. Buy them up, especially if you can land a Kobe-stye number 24, and wear it out as soon as they hit the Team LA store.