5 Best and 5 Worst: NHL Reverse Retro Jerseys

This week brings the founding of a new blog series here on WLTL: "5 Best and 5 Worst", where we examine the Top and Bottom 5 of a particular sports category. This week, I thought it would be fun to reexamine the Adidas "Reverse Retro" program for the NHL. It was a wildly popular initiative that saw several successes and duds in its 2-year tenure, and, with Fanatics now being the jersey distributor for the NHL, it is confirmed to end at two collections. So, let's see the Top 5 and Bottom 5 jerseys in this collection.

#5 (WORST): Columbus Blue Jackets "Set Up For Failure" (Reverse Retro 2.0)

The Blue Jackets were undone by a simple factor that undoes a lot of great jersey designs: color palette. The use of the two different shades of blue really throws off this jersey, and the usual primary mark over the back base doesn't help with the underwhelming desing. The end result is a jersey that feels off, and looks worse. The Blue Jackets had a decent first outing in Reverse Retro 1.0, but their attempt at improving ended with this unfourtunate creation.

#5 (BEST): Vancouver Canucks "Sprite Cans" (Reverse Retro 1.0)

I am a sucker for gradients, and while this jersey didn't win a single game during its run in the league, I firmly believe that this look should've stayed. Known colloquially as "the Sprite Cans", these jerseys pay homage to the 2000s third jersey, but swap the red for their modern green and have these great "Northern Lights" jerseys that, while they'll never make a return, will remain as one of the greatest Canucks jerseys of all time.

#4 (WORST): Ottawa Senators "Temu" (Reverse Retro 1.0)

Remember this color combination for the bottom of the list, because I have a lot to say about it. Just know that your eyes don't deceive you, this color combination is not supposed to work well together. The addition of the seemingly random white lettering and outlines (as well as the refusal to recolor the primary mark) creates a jersey that Senators fans would love to forget. This is certainly one of the ugliest jerseys of both collections, and, while it doesn't necessarily get uglier from here, it does certainly continue downhill.

#4 (BEST): Calgary Flames "Blasty" (Reverse Retro 1.0)

A look so good that it became the team's permanent third jersey. Flames fans across the league adore this jersey, and it isn't hard to see why. The flaming horse (known to fans as "Blasty") is a secondary mark that could easily be the primary for any other sports team, and the great red and yellow striping paired with the whiteout logo and lettering creates a great jersey that thrills both on the ice and on the streets. Truly one of the standouts of the collection.

#3 (WORST): New York Islanders "It's Different?" (Reverse Retro 1.0)

This is a jersey that may go down in history as the most forgotten uniform of all time. In fact, I completely forgot this existed before I did my research for this blog. The Islanders had such a slam dunk with their return to the "Fisherman" for Reverse Retro 2.0 that many have forgotten their baffling decision for Reverse Retro 1.0. You see, it's their home jersey...in navy. Just a completely baffling decision that overlooks their many eras of brand experimentation that could've allowed for some all-time jersey designs. This jersey is certainly not the ugliest jersey in the collection (the Isles' home mark is actually one of my favorite permanent looks in the NHL), but this is certainly the most boring and pointless addition to the Reverse Retro catalog.

#3 (BEST): San Jose Sharks "Golden Seals" (Reverse Retro 2.0)

This spot on this list honestly belongs to both the Colorado Avalanche Reverse Retro 1.0s and the San Jose Sharks 2.0s. Both jerseys employ very similar ideas conceptually and execute them brilliantly. I personally prefer the bright colors of the California Golden Seals, but know that the Avalanche's Quebec Nordiques throwbacks share this spot in spirit. The California Golden Seals were a weird blip in NHL history, only known to many as those weird cyan jerseys labeled under the Dallas Stars in the EA Sports NHL games, but their impact on West Coast hockey was profound, and the Sharks pay great homage to the team with these retro throwbacks. The white, cyan, and yellow pop on the ice and make this simplistic jersey shine amongst the Sharks' catalog.

#2 (WORST): Detroit Red Wings "How Could It Be Worse?" (Reverse Retro 1.0)

In my opinion, one of the worst colors for a jersey is gray. There are very few jerseys that use the color well, and even fewer that I enjoy. While I could've included the Toronto Maple Leafs Reverse Retro 1.0 to make this comment, that jersey was barely left off the list. Detroit, however, just utterly disappoints me with this design. I understand that Detroit doesn't have the richest jersey history; however, sticking to their main design that has been a staple for decades, with a white base that just reminds me of their away jersey, just with more bland colors. Arguably, it would have been more novel for this jersey to have simply been an inverted home kit, and it may have been spared from this list if that were the case. Instead, we are left with this jersey that looks more like a knockoff sweatshirt than an on-ice NHL jersey.

#2 (BEST): Arizona Coyotes "Desert Landscape X2" (Reverse Retro 1.0 & 2.0)

Pick your poison, because both are brilliant, and I can't choose. Taking cues from the franchise's first-ever third jersey, the Coyotes' brilliant marketing team continues to amaze. We start with the desert night, as they add a brilliant purple to create a unique color palette that looks incredible on the ice. Then, faced with another opportunity to reexamine the look, the Coyotes changed only a few things, but they made a massive impact. The purple was swapped for the sleeve's rusted orange, and burgundy replaced black to create an incredible dusk desert atmosphere. All of this is before I mention the recolored center logo and helamonster shoulder patch. While this team has unfortunately lost its identity, these jerseys will surely stand the test of time in NHL history.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (WORST):

#1 (WORST): Detroit Red Wings "Somehow It Got Worse" (Reverse Retro 2.0)

I swear this isn't Blackhawks elitism; any and every Detroit fan will tell you that both of their Reverse Retro designs stink. I will give the 1.0 design props for at least being wearable. I don't even know what to call this. Let's start with the colors. Like I said with the Senators, this shade of "marker red" is meant to be supplemented by softer colors, and notably, not black. Then we get to the actual design. They at least went away from their regular home and away jerseys, instead taking from a throwback they did for the NHL's 75th anniversary, and swapping the white for black to create... this. The only pang of sympathy I will ever feel for Red Wings fans is knowing that they had to watch their team play in these on the ice. Easily the worst jerseys of the Reverse Retro collection.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (BEST):

#1 (BEST): Anaheim Ducks "Mighty Again" (Reverse Retro 2.0)

Calgary's look was so good that it became a permanent third jersey. Anaheim's was so good that it led to the full rebrand (or "debrand") of their team. Everyone in the NHL loves the Mighty Ducks era of Anaheim hockey, and, while the team is nowhere near the talent of those late 90s and early 2000s teams, it has made its grand return in modern colors. The NHL's retro orange shield really helps this look shine as it meshes brilliantly with the orange and black collar, and the great orange, gold, white, and black striping synonymous with their modern era creates a brilliant jersey that epitomizes the concept of "Reverse Retro". It's one thing for a specialty jersey to stand out; it's a whole other thing for a jersey to come out of that collection that makes me say, "When I think Anaheim Ducks, I think of this."