Colorado Avalanche 2022 Reverse Retro sweater reactions

It’s a day most NHL fans have been looking forward to for quite some time–Reverse Retro release day. Back in 2020, the NHL along with Adidas released the first Reverse Retro jersey series and it was met with such overwhelming positivity that most teams sold out of the concept sweaters in a matter of days. For colorado Avalanche fans, they were treated to something that really tied the idea together: past meets present. We got a modern Avalanche-style mixed with the nostalgic Nordiques logo that tied back to the roots of the franchise. Naturally, that set the bar pretty high for what could happen with the 2.0 version.

And this is what we have been given this year.

Ok, let’s be honest, it’s…fine. Seriously, it’s fine. I think some of the negative reaction online is due to expectations set by the first sweater, but nothing was ever going to compare to the mashup that was the Nordiques and Avalanche sweater. That Reverse Retro sweater was so good that Greg Wyshynski rated it his top jersey of 2020. This year the Avalanche sweater made it to #5 on the prestigious list, which is still pretty good in terms of ranking all 32 Reverse Retro designs. This sweater does not deserve the hate it’s been given, especially when you dive into the details.

The Avs wanted to pay homage to the state, rather than the history of hockey in Colorado when you look at the detailed breakdown of jersey features. They’ve also been trying to do something more with the Colorado “C” from our state flag for some time. (See the 2016 addition of the “C” patch and 2016 stadium series sweater). This gave them an excuse to use it once again, but change the colors and give us something completely different, and somewhat unexpected.

A lot of the initial feedback has been about not incorporating the old Colorado Rockies logo, but it was quickly pointed out that the Avalanche pay homage to that design with our navy blue alternates. Also, the New Jersey Devils are technically the franchise that came from the Colorado Rockies and they went that route with their Reverse Retro sweater this season. Most Avalanche fans have also added that bringing back the “yeti foot” was a missed opportunity. On that, I agree. It would be cool to see the club bring back the yeti insignia, but that wasn’t the point of this sweater. This sweater was about embracing our state heritage, and in that regard, they nailed it.

What do you think? Are these sweaters hot or not? Feel free to vote in the poll below.