Ranking all 31 ‘Reverse Retro’ jerseys

With the NHL and Adidas releasing the new “Reverse Retro” jerseys for the 2020-21 season last week, we decided to pause and reflect; really get to know the jersey, to determine whether they are good or not.

We did the time, so now you get to enjoy the only correct ranking of all rankings.

1) Arizona Coyotes

I’m a firm believer that alternate jerseys should be fun, and there’s nothing more fun than this one. The desert landscape trim and the classic Peyote logo call back to the classic Coyotes’ green alternates while the purple adds a fresh, unique touch.

2) Colorado Avalanche

The Avs already have one of the best color schemes in the NHL and in combination with the Nordiques logo, these look incredible. The Fleur de Lis details at the bottom are a great touch.

3) Los Angeles Kings

I don’t think the Kings could’ve done better. There’s not enough purple in the NHL but the Kings and Yotes are trying to change that with these alternates. The Kings will likely still be bad this year, but in these jerseys, at least they’ll look good.

4) Minnesota Wild

I’ve seen some controversy here about the Wild using the North Stars’ colors because iT’s NoT yOuR tEaM but I think these are fantastic and for me, so much better than the giant ‘M’ design that was speculated. What can I say — the bear and forest logo is spectacular.

5) New Jersey Devils

Okay, so maybe they do look like Christmas, but is that so bad? It’s a winning color combo. The green is the perfect backdrop for the Devils’ logo and the candy cane striping is nice.

6) St. Louis Blues

These are very nice. Though not the best team to recall their Gretkzy era through the Reverse Retro jerseys, these jerseys were truly remixed. But don’t lose the irony of the Blues going red.

7) Florida Panthers

This panther is the team’s best logo and it’s nice to see them getting some use out of it. The navy looks sharp and this is a fun twist on an old classic.

8) Calgary Flames

Blasty is fun - stop saying he’s not. Granted, there’s not much else going on with this jersey, but maybe there doesn’t need to be.

9) Vancouver Canucks

When these first dropped, I didn’t love the gradient for Vancouver. Now, these are one of my favorite alternates. The gradient is fresh and fun and it can be hard to pull off on jerseys, but these ones work.

10) Washington Capitals

The screaming eagle is one of the Caps’ best logos and unlike Buffalo, I really like the ‘Capitals’ wordmark on the bottom striping.

11) Montreal Canadiens

There’s not much you can change up with the classic Habs logo, but these blue ones look really sharp. A blue Canadiens jersey shouldn’t work like this, but this one certainly does.

12) Tampa Bay Lightning

My main criticism for these jerseys is that I wanted to see the lightning print down the sleeves or at least the rain backdrop across the front. Other than that, this is a nice blue shade and the black accents look great.

13) San Jose Sharks

The Sharks might have the consistently-best logo in the game. These jerseys allow the logo to take center stage but still lends detail in the striping.

14) Carolina Hurricanes

The Hartford Whalers logo is a great logo and it’s cool to see the gray being used as the Whalers never did. I think they could’ve been more fun to take the Whalers logo and combine it with the Canes’ current red and black, but alas.

15) Pittsburgh Penguins

These ones stand out as they are the only team to go with the diagonal lettering. Other than that, there’s not much that stands out here. Especially with the cool jerseys of their past at their disposal — I miss you, Robo Penguin — these are only okay, but the call back to Snoop’s iconic Gin and Juice video does earn some points.

16) Vegas Golden Knights

It’s hard to come up with something retro considering the team was formed like, last Tuesday. Nonetheless, these red ones are a nice contrast to those all gold numbers they last revealed and this logo looks really nice here.

17) New York Rangers

I love the Lady Liberty logo and I’m glad to see the Rangers use it, but the rest of the jersey feels a bit unfinished. The minimal red striping doesn’t break up the navy monotony on the rest of the jersey.

18) Columbus Blue Jackets

I think using this logo is clever, but I still can’t get over the fact that it seems like it was slapped on top of an old Caps jersey.

19) Buffalo Sabres

This jersey could’ve been a lot higher, but then the Sabres had to go and put ‘BUFFALO’ in that ugly font with the bottom striping. The logo is great and the color scheme is really nice, but they don’t make up for the ruined striping.

20) Toronto Maple Leafs

They’re fine. That’s all there is to say. Sure, the logo seems a bit oversized and the gray striping instead of white is a bit odd, but the Leafs have already used their cooler retro jerseys as alternates, so this is what’s left - or we could’ve seen a sweet St. Pats. crossover.

21) Boston Bruins

These are more jerseys that are fine. I wish that goofy bear was the center logo if only because I want the chaos, but I can’t say the classic look is bad.

22) Edmonton Oilers

This is another jersey that looks like every other Oilers jersey, though I will say the white looks fresh and the striping really pops here.

23) Philadelphia Flyers

These are fine. They look like every other Flyers jersey. I don’t love the curved striping into the arms, but whatever.

24) Nashville Predators

I’m not sure these jerseys feel more retro than they do modern. The logo is clean and looks nice, but it really isn’t that exciting or memorable.

25) New York Islanders

It’s not that these jerseys are bad, but they are incredibly boring. I’m not sure I could tell the difference between these and the current Islanders’ sweaters. This was the perfect opportunity to go all-in on the iconic fisherman logo and they missed it. Give me the fisherman or give me death.

26) Ottawa Senators

While this logo is still better than the one last season, it doesn’t make up for the rest of the jersey. It’s just so… red. The black striping isn’t enough to make this jersey interesting or fun.

27) Anaheim Ducks

This may be my hottest take yet, especially considering my affinity for fun in this league but I have tried so hard to like this jersey and I just can’t do it. I get it, the history is fun and it’s definitely unique and out of the box, but this doesn’t feel like an NHL jersey. Maybe it’ll look better on ice, but the off-center animated Wild Wing and the cartoony font doesn’t do it for me.

28) Winnipeg Jets

This color scheme is not doing the Jets any favors. Why is there so much gray? Why not pick a color that would allow the logo to pop? I think a lighter gray could’ve made a world of difference for Winnipeg.

29) Detroit Red Wings

On one hand - I get it, the Red Wings logo is almost too iconic to mess with. On the other - you could tell me this is a practice jersey and I wouldn’t question it. Detroit’s also had some pretty sweet Winter Classic sweaters, so it would’ve been nice to see something more along those lines.

30) Dallas Stars

This design is really bland. The choice to go with gray and white as the main colors was a miss when that green is right there. Especially after those neon green alternates, this one feels really lackluster.

31) Chicago Bl*ckh*wks

Maybe when the NHL stops using this racist name and caricature of a mascot for the Chicago hockey team, we can give it a better ranking. Until then, absolute last place. Do better, NHL.