Retro Returning, Now For Canucks

a Cathode Rays & Power Plays cross-post from April 26, 2007

I know this news is a couple months old, but since I just posted about the Caps, I figured it was relevant.

The Vancouver Canucks will apparently be donning new threads come the fall as well. And just like Washington, the Canucks are planning a return to their original '70s colors of blue, green and white. No word on whether they'll be keeping the orca logo, going back to the original logo, or designing a completely new one all together.

Either way, we find out on August 1.

I found the original post at Canucks Hockey Blog.

You can catch a glimpse of Johnny Canuck painted on the side of Roberto Luongo's mask on nights when the local team wears its vintage blue, green and white uniforms. And the question begs: "Is the artwork on Luongo's mask a hint of things to come?"

The modern day Canucks' marketing machine has instructed its large army of merchandising retailers to stand by for an announcement on Aug. 1.

"Right now we're ordering next year's inventory blindly," says the owner of a sporting goods outlet in North Vancouver. "All we've been told is that the colours of the uniforms will be blue, green and white, but we don't know what the crest is going to look like. The current killer whale [or orca] jersey, as we understand it, will be kept in reserve and occasionally be used as a 'classic' uniform."

So far, I've learned of six teams that have definite plans to change their logos. I have a source in retail that would probably rather not be named. (Look at me trying to be all cryptic.) Aside from Vancouver and Washington, the other four teams that I know of which will see major- or minor-scale uniform and logo changes are the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and thankfully, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

We'll follow along this summer and see what happens.