A New NHL Jersey Initiative Is On The Way

One of the largest leaks in NHL history occurred just over a month ago. The NHL is set to announce a "Hometown Remix" series for the 2026-2027 season. With the official name and colors revealed, many fans are speculating just what these designs could be.

The original team colors from the leak

Starting with the Eastern Conference teams, the Boston Bruins will now be featuring a brown primary jersey. Despite brown being synonymous with the brand, the Bruins have a surprising lack of brown in their modern jersey catalog, so a brown primary will be welcome for the New England brand. The Sabres have elected to go the navy route, a color they used a lot in the mid-2000s and 2010s. It would be nice to see them make a throwback to the "Buffaslug" logo, although its unpopularity and the fanbase's desire to keep their original look may lead to an underwhelming recoloring of their primary logo. With that said, a navy "Goathead" logo would be great to see. Down to Carolina, the Hurricanes in grey makes perfect sense for the brand. As the Hurricanes brand is currently in flux, a grey "Hurricane" color would be great for experimentation. Moving west to Columbus, the Blue Jackets will likely have a silver-toned gray (much like their 2025 Stadium Series Jersey), a perfect match for their cannon aesthetic that fits into their "Blue Jacket" branding. On the topic of perfect matches, the Red Wings would never wear anything other than red or white. However, given Detroit's lack of branding changes, fans should expect this jersey to be incredibly underwhelming. One jersey that won't be underwhelming has been a long time coming, and that is the Florida Panthers in pink. The "Miami Vice" aesthetic has been tapped into by the Miami Heat, so now another Miami team will be tapping into the colors with what should prove to be a brilliant jersey. Moving far north, the Montreal Canadians will be in navy. It's expected to be a reverse of their primary logo, much like their Reverse Retro 1.0. As we enter the New York-New Jersey metro, we start in New Jersey, where the Devils will be in black. It was a very expected move from the team; however, an unexpected move sees the New York Islanders in white. The Isles have a tendency to stick to dark jerseys for their special edition jerseys, so the prospect of a potential throwback to the "Fisherman" logo in light instead of the Reverse Retro 2.0's navy is a fun prospect to think about. The biggest splash in the metro is undoubtedly the New York Rangers in black. The "Broadway Blue Shirts" in a color they've never used before will be an interesting sight to behold. One team that is accustomed to black is the Ottawa Senators, and they will be sticking to black for the "Hometown Remix" jersey. While the Senators refuse to experiment, the Flyers down in Philadelphia will be wearing a grey primary this year. Their in-state rival in Pittsburgh will also have an interesting color, as they pay homage to their early tenure as they dress in navy blue instead of their modern black and yellow. More black is seen further south, as the Tampa Bay Lightning are expected to expand on their "Gasproilla" practice jersey and make it a full on-ice jersey next year. Up north, the Maple Leafs will be in beige in what could be a very hit-or-miss design for the Toronto team. Finally, the Washington Capitals are expected to be in blue in what I believe will be a recoloring of their original star jersey, which has been remixed in white and red, but not yet blue. With that, rounding out the Eastern Conference, here are some fan concepts of what these jerseys could look like:

Moving on to the Western Conference, the Anaheim Ducks are making an interesting move and having a green primary jersey for the first time in their history, harkening back to the Disney movie on which they were based. A less interesting move is that of the Calgary Flames, who have elected to stick to a red primary; the team does have an interesting set of historical logos to pull from in the design process. One team that has its design almost directly planned out is that of the Chicago Blackhawks. It is almost assured that they will remake the 2010s St. Patrick's Day jerseys that were synonymous with the Stanley Cup Dynasty that was the scourge of the league. That said, a fresh design in green would also be welcomed by fans. The Colorado Avalanche have elected to field a white jersey, and while many believe they could rehash their extremely popular Reverse Retro 1.0 design, they could elect to do something completely original with the brand instead of calling back once again to the Quebec Nordiques brand. And while we mention white jerseys, the Dallas Stars' last foray into a white specialty jersey was the Reverse Retro 1.0, in which they used far too much white while paying homage to their 1999 Stanley Cup-winning team. However, with a revisit to the iconic "Star" pattern with their third jersey this year, a future jersey that revisits the concept would be beloved by fans. Heading north, the Edmonton Oilers will be wearing an oily, black jersey for the first time in their history, and many surprisingly speculate the design to be the biggest disappointment of the bunch. One that conversely will be a favorite is the Los Angeles Kings. Their Reverse Retro designs back to the old colors, which were made famous by their basketball neighbors, were extremely popular during the series' run. I personally think a throwback to the "Burger King" jerseys in purple would be fun to see. Heading north, many speculate the Minnesota Wild will have a "northern lights" inspired design with their black base, which would be a neat roundabout way to pay homage to the "State of Hockey"'s former North Stars. The Nashville Predators are expected to return navy to the primary color in a move fans have been decrying for years after being tired of the team's traditional mustard design for the past decade. Another fan favorite color will be the teal of the San Jose Sharks, as many expect them to remix their Reverse Retro 2.0 design, which was a throwback to the defunct California Golden Seals. One team that likely won't draw on history is the Seattle Kraken. The league's newest expansion team, the Kraken, is choosing a navy base for its design, but its track record of using barber pole striping has many excited about what the rest of the jersey will look like. Moving east, the St. Louis Blues are looking to shake things up with a color more often associated with their northern rival, as the Blues will be rolling in black. A fun design is surely on the horizon, as is that of the Utah Mammoth. Many fans are predicting that the team will adopt a throwback to their old identity as the Arizona Coyotes, but with a "Utah" spin, as their jersey will be in their icy blue coloring. Sticking with blue, the Vancouver Canucks will be rolling in navy, and with a wide range of jersey history to pull from, I'd love to see the iconic skate logo in the modern colors. Down in the desert, the Vegas Golden Knights will have a black jersey that should honor the iconic "Vegas Strip" much like their Reverse Retro 2.0 jersey. Much like that jersey, it would be fun if this jersey glowed in the dark. Finally, up in Winnipeg, the Jets return to a familiar color. With a lot of history to pull from, the Jets remixing one of their classic looks in navy would be a welcome surprise for the league. Here are some concepts for these Western Conference teams:

NHL sweaters are some of the best types of sports jerseys in sports, and this upcoming collection will be Fanatic's first big test to see if they can create a collection as iconic as Adidas's Reverse Retro series. With the colors already leaked and the designs expected to be iconic, this should be a series with something for every fan.