The Adidas Reverse Retros

Written By Matthew Goldman

Yesterday, Adidas dropped their new “Reverse Retro” design, and while some of the designs are downright gorgeous (Colorado), some are absolutely awful (Detroit), and some are somewhere in the middle. So let’s rank them!

These are the cream of the crop. The absolute best of the Reverse Retros. They not only take the “retro” part, but also reverse it in a phenomenal way.

Colorado Avalanche The leaks were true - the Avs went full Nordiques and it’s basically perfect. The burgundy works extremely well, the fleur-de-lis are gorgeous, and the font absolutely pops with the blue.
Minnesota Wild Again, the leaks were mostly true. The Wild made an absolutely gorgeous jersey using the old North Stars jersey. I know Wild fans have been itching for a North Stars themed jersey since the team emerged in 2000, and this is beautiful. Only improvement would be to use Minnesota's stylized "M" instead of the manbearpig.
Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks It's the Wild Wing. I love it. It's so awful and stupid but also so damn good. Retro? Check. Reversed? Check. A+ job, Anaheim. Proud of you for not defaulting to the safe 90's set, or those bland 1998-2000 alternates.
Arizona Coyotes For an organization that's not doing a lot correct lately, this is it. They took one of my favorite ugly jerseys and (cue Eric Andre) MADE IT PURPLE. It's going to be one of the fastest moving RR jerseys.
New Jersey Devils Another one that just hits it out of the park. NJ fans have been clamoring for a non-red jersey forever, and here it is. It's perfect.

These are ones that are great, but not perfect. They’re still high on the list of “gotta buy this.”

Carolina Hurricanes I'll probably catch flak for not making this an "S-Tier" jersey, but too bad. If this had the Whalers-ified Canes logo (Bowl or Two Flags), it would be an S-tier, no doubt. I just wish the Canes would incorporate something from the 90's Raleigh IceCaps ECHL team! It wouldn't sell nearly as well, and it's far more obscure, so I get why they did Whalers.
Montreal Canadiens The Habs had an easy lay-up here, and they took it. They used the retro no-laces look, and made it blue. Boring, but super nice. Habs fans have wanted blue for some time, and I'm happy to see it come to fruition.
Ottawa Senators The Sens just released their new kit, so this isn't so much retro as much as it is reversed. Still, it's gorgeous and I'm thrilled to have more 2D Centurion stuff.
Tampa Bay Lightning What do we want? A storm jersey! What did we get? A still fantastic reversed retro of their old-school jerseys, complete with victory stripes.
Vegas Golden Knights Like everything Vegas does, they went big and bold. Taking inspiration from the IHL Las Vegas Thunder of the 90's and combining it with their modern alternate logo and colors is great. It's just not for me.
Washington Capitals The Caps went for it and used the Screaming Eagle. Bless their hearts. Great design, and I'm glad the beak/talons aren't the same color scheme as the rest of the jersey. This one will sell boatloads.

Teams that gave it a shot, but fell short of greatness.

Boston Bruins This is what everyone expected and wanted. It isn't great, it isn't awful, but it's nice to see Boston in yellow again. And who doesn't love the Meth Bear? If I were Boston fan, I'd probably pick one up. Besides, let's face it. Pooh Bear wasn't coming back.
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo has done a lot right in the jersey department this year, but like their new homes, they were so close to perfection but dropped the ball. If they had dropped the BUFFALO from the waist, it would be a shoo-in for S/A.
LA Kings I'll break with most people - I really like this jersey. Any retro Kings jersey at this point should be yellow and Forum Blue. It's just a little bland. Give us the crown!
San Jose Sharks San Jose broke with what everyone wanted (a set based on the inaugural season) and went with one of their most off-brand kits instead. Regardless, they took a rather odd looking jersey and made it pretty cool.
St Louis Blues It's reversed. It's retro. Why do I hate it? They should have gone with a design that wasn't just reversing the retro jersey they came out with last year.

You did it. You made a “retro” jersey.

Calgary Flames You dropped the red from the bottom. So bold. So brave.
So inoffensive, just like your old home/away kit. People will buy it for Blasty nostalgia, not because it's a cool different jersey.
Edmonton Oilers You could've made a whtie McFarlane jersey, but instead you went with yet another redux of your jerseys. It's basically your current aways with a modified color scheme. Cool, I guess.
Florida Panthers There is nothing special about this jersey. It's just a refreshed version of your 90's jersey.
Pittsburgh Penguins Kinda predictable, just make a white version of the gin'n'juice jersey. Would've liked to see some Robopen action, but oh well.
Vancouver Canucks It's a green/blue version of the early 2000's jersey, with strong Messier vibes. It's an alright design, but there were so many better options out there.

Nothing offensive, nothing special. So many missed opportunities, or just bad design.

Chicago Blackhawks You finally did it Chicago. You ran out of retro jerseys and got one of the most plain and boring desings in your history. You know what would have been better? A white version of your 2019 Winter Classic jersey.
Nashville Predators Listen, no on expected Mustard Cat to make a resurgance. You know what would have been cool? Make a marigold version of the 2009-11 Navy alternate jersey.
New York Islanders It's just your early 2000's jerseys with some exaggerated lines, minus the 4-line patch. It's not awful, but it is completely uninspired and not fun. I could see these ending up on Full Moon Jerseys pretty quick. You have the Fisherman, use it!
New York Rangers It's the Lady Liberty jersey, minus the red sleeve tips. So it's a blue shirt with a couple tiny red stripes. It's like a Walmart version of the Lady Liberty. It's bad.
Toronto Maple Leafs There is literally nothing special about this jersey. It doesn't make me want to gouge my eyes out, so it gets to escape the F-tier.

You failed. Feel bad.

Columbus Blue Jackets Columbus doesn't have a great history with jerseys. Their original stuff was pretty boring, and their 2007-Current set is boring. So they took their original set, and made it...red with white shoulders. It's an eyesore.
Dallas Stars You had such a simple task. Take the Star jersey, and update it a smidge. Instead, you went for the white-out look. It's like you missed the slam dunk and fell onto a kid in a wheelchair. It's destined to be a Ross find.
Detroit Red Wings Hello, we're Detroit and we're not allowed to have fun. Instead of using the TBTC design, or the 2009 WC, or literally anything aside from your normal kits, you just whited-out the normal away jersey. It's bad. It's a practice jersey. The gray isn't even heathered, which would at least give it some character.
Phildelphia Flyers Why must you hurt me. Why. I know the Flyers don't have a very diverse jersey history, but this is literally a LV Phantoms jersey. Add in that it isn't using the reversed nameplate, and it's just awful.
Winnipeg Jets What in the fresh hell is this? I guess for how amazing your Heritage Classic jerseys have been, you'd have to balance it out with one of the absolute worst jerseys in recent history. The gray and blue blend together, the crest is a blob, and you don't even have gray in your jersey history aside from the jet on your normal home. You know what would've been cool? A Jets-colored Thrashers jersey. But no, you gave us...this. Disgusting.

So, what am I getting? I’ve already preordered my Avs jersey, and I’ve got the Ducks, Canes, Habs and Sharks on hold. I’ll probably keep them all blank except for the Canes, which will become a Hamilton (if he re-signs).

Overall, this was a challenge for a lot of teams. Some knocked it completely out of the park and gave us something really cool, something really different, something that the fans have been begging for, or some combination of all three. Some went completely out of left field and made really cool stuff. Some teams were lazy and uninspiring.

Regardless, I’m really happy to see Adidas and the NHL at least trying to have some fun with retro designs. This was a very cool project and definitely a departure from the “boring and safe” method the NHL has taken over the past few years with jerseys. At minimum, these jerseys will be conversation starters for years to come.

Matthew Goldman
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Reverse Retros, a week later.