If the Vancouver Canucks aren’t going to make the playoffs, they may as well look good.
At practice on Monday morning, the Canucks were in their usual multi-hued array of practice jerseys: green, blue, white, red, and black. Their pants, gloves, and helmets, however, were a uniform black and emblazoned with a familiar orange and yellow logo.
The Canucks confirmed that they will, in fact, be wearing their black skate jerseys on Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken. It’s the second time they’ll wear the iconic 90’s jersey this season.
Whether fueled by nostalgia or a legitimate appreciation for its retro aesthetic, the skate jersey is a definite fan favourite. Or maybe the reason it’s so highly appreciated is because the Canucks play so well when they’re wearing it.
The Canucks’ one appearance with the skate jersey was on February 24 against the Calgary Flames and it was their best performance all season. They utterly dominated the top team in the Pacific Division, walloping the Flames 7-1.
“We just set a standard for ourselves for the rest of the year,” said J.T. Miller after the win. “That's not by winning by six goals, but it's the playing the right way, being sharp on the special teams, being ready to start the game. We have a standard — we need to play to that from here on out. We shouldn't be satisfied with anything other than that.”
The Canucks did play well for most of the rest of the season after that win, though they never quite managed to match that standard. Perhaps it was because they weren’t wearing the skate jersey.
The fans may love the jersey but the players love it nearly as much.
"I said that before the game, I said it to Millsy, these should be our jerseys all the time," said Conor Garland. "These are beautiful."
Miller concurred.
"I love the jerseys, they're great," said Miller. "It's very old school and I like that. I would love to wear these at home every single time, these are probably the best jersey."
The skate jersey’s magic dates back to the 2019-20 season, when they wore it four times during the team’s 50th anniversary celebrations. They went 3-0-1 in the skate, with their only loss coming in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche, but even that game featured a magical last-minute comeback fueled by the flying skate to tie the game.
That means, over the last three seasons, the Canucks are 4-0-1 while wearing the skate jersey. Extrapolate that over a full 82-game schedule and that’s a 66-0-16 record for 148 points to shatter the record held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens with 132 points.
In other words, the Canucks should definitely switch to the skate jersey full-time next season.
