Detroit Red Wings:”Reverse retro” jerseys could have been much better

Yes, it’s that point in the offseason. The newly debuted Detroit Red Wings “reverse retro” jerseys were severely underwhelming and could have been better.

The National Hockey League (NHL) and Adidas have partnered to create “reverse retro” themed jerseys for each of the teams across the league. This is the first time all of the 31 NHL teams participated in a league-wide alternate jersey program. The Detroit Red Wings version of the jersey could have been much better.

Before getting into the Red Wings design, here’s a little more about the “reverse retro” jerseys. Adidas worked with each team around the league to incorporate past color schemes, past logos, and just old alternates to develop alternate jersey schemes for each of the teams.

Teams like the Arizona Coyotes brought back the Kachina jersey, the St. Louis Blues brought back the red to their color scheme for their “reverse retro” jersey, and the Carolina Hurricanes channeled the Hartford Whalers for their version.

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The jersey concept that Adidas and the Red Wings came up with could have been much better and a lot more appealing.

At first glance, it looks like the design is the same as the 2017 Centennial Classic jersey the Red Wings wore.

There was excitement with these “reverse retro” jerseys for some teams, but for the Red Wings, it was a lackluster effort.

The Red Wings Twitter account tweeted out pictures of the new jersey concept, which led to mixed reviews. It really seems like there was much more that could have been done with this jersey concept and compared to some of the other ones released, it could have been better.

To sum it up, it is an all-white jersey concept, similar to the Red Wings 2017 Centennial Classic jersey, except this one has less red and more grey. There is one stripe on the main body part of the jersey and one on the sleeves that is grey. The numbering is red both on the back and the sleeves.

There is no logo patches on the shoulders, nothing. Just a white jersey with a grey stripe and red numbering. While it is a “clean” look and is a different concept than the Red Wings have donned in any of their recent concepts, there was just plenty of better options to explore.

At the end of the day, a jersey is a jersey and will not change the output on the ice, but it seems like Adidas dropped the ball with this design. It was overly simplified, and there was much more that could have been done to give fans something new.

Keep an eye out in 2020-21 as the Detroit Red Wings will don the “reverse retro” jerseys against opponents.