The ski suit will return, but not quite as you remember it.
The black ski jersey will be back, but it may not be quite the same.
The Vancouver Canucks have been hinting for weeks that they will bring back their beloved black jersey this season. The clearest sign of the jersey’s return was when the Canucks trained in black gear before heading out on a road trip, including goaltender Spencer Martin in a mask and custom pads.
Canadians even had a #freetheskate banner fly over Vancouver like a guerrilla marketing ploy, and there were other results for the “#freetheskate” hashtag.
Now, the shirt itself appears to have leaked thanks to a fanatics jersey uploaded to the NHL Shop International website.
The leaked jerseys appear to be a recreation of the classic 1990s jersey rather than a re-use of the version the Canucks wore on the 50th anniversary of their season.
Comparing the jersey to the jerseys the Canucks wore in the 1990s, the differences quickly became apparent.
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The original 1990s jerseys had a slimmer red stripe directly over a thicker yellow stripe on the sleeves and bottom of the shirt, while the redesign follows in the Heritage team’s footsteps with two large stripes. Yellow stripes on the sleeves add a diagonal detail giving it a “V” shape on the side.
Unlike the 1990s shirts, there are no stripes around the shirt’s black collar. There is an interesting mountain pattern on the inner collar, but since it’s not visible during play, it doesn’t make much of a difference.
The biggest – and most controversial – change is to the logo. The Canucks removed all white from the logo, including the speed stripes and the white background behind the “Canucks” wordmark inside the logo.
Embed from Getty Images
The logo would probably be less noticeable without those white details, but that’s not necessarily a bad change. It arguably reads better as a skate shoe without the white.
As always, it’s a good idea to reserve judgment until you see the new jerseys in action on the ice. Seeing them as part of a uniform complete with name stripes and numbers always makes all the difference.
There are rumors that the black skateboard jersey will not be worn for a limited time as in the past, but rather will become the team’s official third jersey. While the Canucks have worn their old jerseys several times this season, they have not worn the official third jersey, which was previously the heritage jersey.
