Johnny Canuck is back. Or is he? Vancouver Canucks fans were in a state of hysteria Saturday night, when photos of a new reverse retro jersey were leaked by a listing on Facebook Marketplace. The original post has since been deleted, but not before photos of the jersey began circulating on Twitter.
Liberty Bell Jerseys on Twitter posted the following image of the jersey.
https://twitter.com/LBJerseys/status/1551044521861025792
The return of the NHL’s reverse retro jerseys has been highly anticipated since the 2021 edition. The Athletic reported in March that the program would be returning for the 2022-23 season. (Paywalled)
The jersey appears to be modelled after those worn by the WHL’s Vancouver Canucks in the 1962-63 season. The Johnny Canuck logo adorns the front of the jersey, with the Canucks using navy blue, green, and white as primary colours.
looks like just an old WHL Canucks jersey, which checks out as the collar seems to say 1960-something and the NHL Canucks didn’t come into existence til 1970. if it’s fake that’s a damn good fake pic.twitter.com/cEO98TLrIL
— alex (@higgs31_) July 24, 2022
The WHL Canucks’ jersey featured the players’ numbers on the left chest, and the “C” and “A” letters on the right chest. The leaked jersey does not have any letters or numbers, so it remains to be seen if these features will remain consistent.
The jersey also displays minor changes to the Adidas uniform design. Most notably, the NHL shield on the collar has been reverted to the league’s black and orange colour scheme, used from the 1946-47 season until the 2004-05 lockout.
The direction of the “NHL” text on the shield has changed, reflecting the league’s present logo design. It’s a clever concept that blends in an additional “reverse retro” component.
https://twitter.com/LBJerseys/status/1551046084021174273?s=20&t=DsC6-j3x1SrHLAovZSf0tQ
The shield on this jersey also lacks the metallic appearance seen on all present NHL jerseys, featuring a classic design similar to the shields on the old Reebok Edge jerseys, used from 2007-08 through 2016-17.
Liberty Bell Jerseys also reported that the Adidas logo on the back of the jersey has been simplified. While the company’s classic three stripes are present, the “Adidas” text is gone.
https://twitter.com/LBJerseys/status/1551044106238951424?s=20&t=DsC6-j3x1SrHLAovZSf0tQ
Understandably, questions remain regarding the authenticity of the jersey.
At first glance, this jersey exhibits all the elements of a real Adidas Primegreen jersey. It has the proper tagging and materials, as per the photos. The reverse retro design on the inside of the collar is also consistent with the 2021 version. Other features, including the fight strap, are also visually consistent with other Adidas jerseys.
Chris Smith, founder of hockey logo and jersey website Icethetics had this to say about the supposed leaked jersey.
I usually start from a place of assuming things like this are fake, too. That said, after combing over the details, if it is fake, easily one of the best I’ve ever seen.
— icethetics (@icethetics) July 24, 2022
As far as your logo question, good point but I know the definition of RR is expanding this year.
We cannot be 100% sure if this jersey is legitimate, and we likely won’t know for sure until the official jersey is unveiled.
For now, Canucks fans will have to wait and see if this leaked jersey is part of the reverse retro uniform that the team will be sporting this season.