On Saturday night, the Carolina Hurricanes will play their first game in their newly unveiled Hometown Remix jerseys, created by Fanatics. The team's newest kit is unlike anything we've seen from the organization, and it's not half bad, even if opinions are very mixed. The Canes have already seen teams in their remixed sweaters, facing the Islanders in their new Fisherman gear on Thursday.
This is not the first time that the league has done something like this, with efforts being made to bring in new fans with these interesting designs. Some of them work. Others fall flat. It made me wonder about other attempts recently. Under their new ownership group, we've seen classics revived, retros reversed, and a classic that inspired a full-time change for the team in the future.
6. 2022-23 Reverse Retro
The diagonal "CANES" road sweater is the worst jersey in franchise history. At least it was. Then, Adidas put out the 2022-23 Reverse Retro line, the second of its kind, and this took the cake. True to half of the name, the kits were certainly "reversed", swapping the white base for the home red. Retro? Not in the slightest. Adidas failed the assignment.
I don't hate everything about this one. The warning flags making up the bottom stripe are a good detail. However, the greatest crime might be wearing their black buckets and pants with these. The overall setup lacked cohesion. I'm grateful that the team hasn't gone back to this well. It was a very bad idea, and it deserves to be thrown in the trash.
5. 2018-23 Whalers Night
I understand there is a subset of the population that doesn't like when the Hurricanes wear Whalers gear. I'm not in that subset. I like the way they do it currently. They don't overdo it, sticking to once or twice a year. Obviously, it ruffled some feathers the first time around, but the disdain has seemingly quieted in recent years. Their first attempt was a solid effort.
When they began their Heritage contests, the team used Hartford's road green sweaters from the late 80s. It wouldn't have been my choice. There are other versions that are superior. I prefer its precursor, which has a little more green along the bottom. The lack of Pucky the Whale was also a disappointment. I think they made a good decision to switch things up down the line.
4. 2026-27 Hometown Remix
We've yet to see these in action, though that will change on Saturday. The Canes will wear these 11 times this season, and I'm probably higher on them than the average hockey fan who doesn't appreciate what we have in North Carolina. Stormy the Ice Hog gets star billing on this newest creation from Fanatics, and it's a deserved honor, standing out on a gray base.
"Struttin' Stormy" pays tribute to the state's college heritage, with Stormy donning a sweater and strutting his stuff, similar to how we've seen Rameses and Mr. Wuf do it in the past. It also pays homage to Raleigh's nickname as the "City of Oaks", using a beautiful leaf design on the sleeves. There's room for this to grow on me in the future, especially after we see how it looks on the ice.
3. 2024-26 Whalers Night
As far as traditional Whalers sweaters are concerned, this is about as good as you'll get. The team made the smart decision to switch from the road greens to the home whites from the old Hartford days. I don't stand far on either side when debating whether the home teams should wear white, but these are certainly a reason in support of the idea.
The original white sweaters are far superior to the greens, in my humble opinion. They do a good job of properly incorporating all of the Whalers' colors, which I think the road jerseys lacked. I'm still not thrilled that Pucky isn't included somewhere, but it's a minor nitpick for an otherwise good sweater. Kudos to the team for making the change.
2. 2021 Reverse Retro
There's only one Whalers jersey that I would put above this one, and I'm hopeful that we'll get it soon. Saying that this is the best Whalers jersey we've seen since relocation will likely cause some waves. This was the epitome of what Adidas was going for with the Reverse Retros. From the gorgeous front crest to Pucky on the shoulders, it was a perfect tribute.
To their credit, they did a very good job. I'm a fan of the gray/silver base, helping the green and blue stand out. It feels like a small detail, but the gray socks work well with it, too. The Whalers' kits for their last five seasons were their best overall, incorporating the gray that translated into these sweaters. It's one of the best from the initial line, making the follow-up effort even more disappointing.
1. 2023 Stadium Series
This wasn't much of a contest in my mind. As big a fan as I am of the Whalers' homages, this remains one of the coolest sweaters in the team's history. It definitely helps that the occasion was as grand as it was, and these hit the mark. It's the first time I've ever seen the team release something and I've said, "I need to get that". That's not the sole reason I placed it here, though it's a contributing factor.
The Capitals' sweater for this was cool, too. It's one of the best jersey matchups that doesn't get as much shine. The other details are really nice. I liked the reimagining of the crest, which works way better on a black base than it does on the team's current road whites. The helmet side decals were a nice touch. It's far from a perfect sweater, but it's one of the best the Hurricanes have ever worn.
Add us as a preferred source on Google