Adidas has finally released the NHL Reverse Retro jerseys. Each team has a modern-styled throwback jersey to be worn a few times this coming season. This will be the final part of a four part series, going division by division, where the Drive4Five team will review each teams jersey. We have also scored each jersey out of 10. Last week we reviewed the Central Division, and today we will be giving our thoughts on each Pacific Division Reverse Retro jersey.

Los Angeles Kings: (8.9/10)

This is gorgeous. Many fans have wanted the Kings to bring back the amazing purple and gold color scheme, and they did just that with this sweater. The only thing wrong with these is that the numbers are too low. This jersey would be perfect if the numbers were not inside the gold stripe. Lexi Panagatos agrees, saying, “The numbers on the jersey are placed low. I think that it would look a lot better with more white as well.” Our team ranked the Kings jersey as the best Pacific Division Reverse Retro jersey.

San Jose Sharks: (5.1/10)

The San Jose Sharks threw it back to early in their franchise’s history, modeling their reverse retro off of a jersey from 1998.  They use teal as their franchises main color, the most unique color in the NHL.  For this jersey they decided on gray, and due to this decision the fans are disappointed. The sleeves and logo look incredible but the gray makes this jersey dull and boring. “The Sharks had a lot of potential and took a swing and a miss, mainly because the base color of the jersey is grey. Grey simply doesn’t work as a primary color, and it takes away from the iconic shark logo,” is how Shawn D’Aversa perfectly described it. Average jersey.

Anaheim Ducks: (5.4/10)

Wild Wing is back. One of the most bizarre jersey designs in NHL history is making its return as a reverse retro. Fans are either in love with this design, or they absolutely despise it. The colors are beautiful and the font looks sleek. It just seems too busy and there should only be one solid logo on the front of each jersey.  Shawn D’Aversa agrees and doesn’t like this sweater. “It’s cool to look at, yes, but it’s not a good hockey jersey. It is extremely flashy and looks like an art project more than an actual jersey. This jersey seems like a desperate attempt to stand out, and it wasn’t done so in style.” Proving the spilt among fans Wayland LaMara said “They nailed it. Just have to get Gordon Bombay behind the bench.”

Arizona Coyotes: (8.3/10)

In a reversed edition of a jersey from 1998, the Coyotes went purple. The bottom doesn’t have stripes, but instead a desert design with a moon and cacti. It is a very unconventional design for a jersey, but it looks good. As a logo there is a kachina coyote head. This jersey is an awesome alternate and really does the trick. Jake Blackmore is a fan, as he says the Coyotes’ jersey is “another out of the ballpark hit by Arizona.” He is right, as the Yotes add yet another great jersey to their rotation here.

Vegas Golden Knights: (6.9/10)

Everyone had been expecting the Golden Knights secondary logo on the front of a jersey at some point. A red jersey was expected at some point as well. Obviously, Vegas hasn’t existed long enough to have a retro jersey, so they got their inspiration from the now-defunct IHL’s Las Vegas Thunder. The jersey is the same but replaced with the golden knights colors and logo. The red pops and the sleek striping looks incredible. “These are better than their alternates” is what Will Wiegelman said about them, and many people agree no matter how they feel about this jersey. It looks good nevertheless.

Vancouver Canucks: (7.5/10)

The Gradient has made a return, a jersey that has been infamous as a “fail” during its time. This edition is much better as the navy blue and green look a lot better than the navy and dark red. As for most jerseys, there is a large spilt among fans. Like many others, this jersey changed the colors of a classic as Jake Blackmore explained: “Similar to LA and Minnesota, it brings in the best colour scheme they’ve had with a legendary jersey. Zero complaints here.” The gradient has been made fun of by some fans but is a beautiful retro jersey.

Calgary Flames: (8.3/10)

Blasty is back! Calgary did a fantastic job with re-creating the iconic horse logo, and making it look much better. The black with red and yellow accents is much more sleek than the past edition. The thin accent of colors around the numbers adds some extra detail. Matthew Page stated: “A jersey that wasn’t given much hype, but Calgary delivered well here.”

Edmonton Oilers: (8.1/10)

The Oilers jerseys have gone through little change throughout their storied history. With that being said, they kept it simple with their Reverse Retros. This is a remake from 1979 and the main difference would be “reversing” it as orange is the main accent color of this jersey. Most of the team agreed that this jersey is nice, just a bit boring. Ben Kule definitely agreed: “Good looking away, too boring and not enough difference for a good alt.” Decent job here from Edmonton.

The Pacific Division Reverse Retro collection is our final part in this series. Thank you for reading each of the past four weeks!

John Smark