Canucks officially unveil Reverse Retro jersey in latest aesthetic change

On Thursday, Vancouver Canucks fans were offered a distraction from the disaster that has been the team’s winless start to the season, with the reveal of the new Reverse Retro jersey.

All 32 NHL teams unveiled their Reverse Retro looks on social media on Thursday morning, with the slogan “History Never Repeats” idolizing the uniforms for Vancouver, an unfortunate tagline for the Canucks who have blown multi-goal leads in four straight games to begin the season.

The league-wide unveiling followed a series of teaser videos posted by clubs yesterday, as well as a growing number of leaks being shared online.

The Canucks’ Reverse Retro jersey is a spin-off of the 1962 Vancouver Canucks (WHL), featuring Johnny Canuck as the centrepiece. Originally white, blue and red, the Canucks remixed the jersey with navy blue, green, and off-white.

Consistent with the original design, jersey numbers will also be placed on the front of the jersey.

Similar to when the Canucks’ design was leaked in July, the official announcement has been met with mixed reviews.

Some fans have criticized the logo for resembling the identity of the Abbotsford Canucks, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, who also use Johnny Canuck as its primary logo, whereas others have praised the design’s colour scheme of navy blue and green.

Despite using the Johnny Canuck logo as an alternate moniker since the 2008-09 season, this marks the first time the logo will be seen front-and-centre in NHL action.

The Reverse Retro jerseys will make their on-ice debut on November 1st, when the Canucks take on the New Jersey Devils, marking the first of eight appearances on the year.

In the NHL’s first run of the Reverse Retro jerseys last season, the Canucks went 0-4. Of course, the jerseys weren’t the reason for the team’s lack of success, but there’s no doubt that they’ll want to associate their new kits with a winning identity.

Fans can pre-order the Reverse Retro jersey through Vanbase, the Canucks Team Store’s website, starting today.

The Reverse Retro jersey is the latest in a series of changes that the Canucks have made to their on-ice look this year.

It was also announced today that the Canucks will no longer be wearing their heritage uniforms. Could this mean the skate jerseys are getting a promotion to the team’s full-time alternates? That would make sense, but we’re still waiting on an official announcement.

During training camp, the Canucks also were seen wearing blue pants without their classic green and white stripes running down the sides.

With advertisements becoming more prominent on NHL uniforms, the Canucks also announced NextGen Energy as their helmet sponsor. Vancouver has yet to announce a jersey sponsor.

What are your thoughts on the Reverse Retro jerseys? Let us know in the comments!