Reviewing The 2023 NHL All-Star Jerseys (Spoiler Alert: I Like Them)

In a few short weeks, hockey’s best will find themselves in South Florida for the NHL All-Star Game.

Every new all-star game has brought with it a new all-star jersey. Starting last week, pictures of the 2023 edition began to leak on Twitter for all the hockey world to see. Now we get the official word these are the jerseys players will be wearing.

Two things stick out immediately when I see this jersey. First, the NHL is going back to its old-school NHL All-Star design.

Every year from 2011-2022, with the exception of the 2019 and 2020 editions, had the generic NHL shield logo placed front and center on each jersey.

This year will throwback to the logo used for the 1994-1997 All-Star game with an NHL logo puck featured under a large “Eastern” or ‘Western” Conference word mark.

The NHL loves reverse retro jerseys. They love them so much that they have already come out with two editions of them! This new all-star jersey appears to follow suit as a “reverse-retro” version of the 1990’s All-Star Game jerseys.

The NHL did a good job with the best All-Star jerseys in recent memory.

The second thing that stands out is the blue and pink color scheme. That’s obviously a nod to the “Miami Vice” television show since the game is taking place in the Miami era. That’s not surprising considering most of the marketing for the All-Star Game already has leaned heavily on the “Miami Vice” theme.

In recent years, the NHL has tried to add a little bit of a local feel to their all-star jerseys. Sometimes they try too hard and the local references go right over everyone’s head, like the 2020 NHL All-Star jerseys from St. Louis.

“Miami Vice” is instantly recognizable. Fans also love it. The Miami Heat have had a similar color scheme jersey for years that has been enjoyed by basketball and non-basketball fans alike.

It might be a weird choice for the NHL to go with the easy option of “Miami Vice” colors. Then again, I can’t blame them. No offense Florida Panthers fans, but there is very little hockey history to draw off of in the area. There’s very little sports history to begin with.

When I think of Miami sports, I think of the 1970’s Miami Dolphins and like five years of LeBron James (those Florida Marlins World Series are a myth of everyone’s imagination).

It was the basic option, but it still looks pretty good. What else were they going to do? Maybe a beach jersey, but that would have been a much more difficult design than the accents of blue and pink they chose.

Maybe a “Scarface” themed jersey? Orange color to honor the old Miami Orange Bowl stadium? Using University of Miami colors might have worked, but it would have been weird having a hockey jersey for a school that doesn’t have an NCAA hockey team.

It might not be the most creative color scheme, but it’s a mix of the old and new. It’s a jersey hockey fans will immediately recognize and remember when the All-Star Game was in Miami. Next year’s jersey has a tough act to follow.