Rumors have been swirling and a few designs may have been leaked, but earlier today, Adidas Hockey rolled out a new teaser for each team’s “fourth jersey” for the upcoming season. The concept, dubbed “Reverse Retro,” has been described as “retro, with a twist” — though the teaser hints at what that twist is.
The Los Angeles Kings released the teaser clip for their Reverse Retro jersey on Twitter:
#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/HsZENZDcDd
— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 10, 2020
The short video shows a silhouette of a person walking, wearing a jersey and a backward hat, and offers two clues to the design. First, is the number on the back of the jersey, which is different for every team:
Every #NHL team just tweeted their #ReverseRetro teaser videos (except PIT so far). Confirmations across the board. Fun game to play this morning. Full jerseys coming soon! pic.twitter.com/UStIaYZtVH
— icethetics (@icethetics) November 10, 2020
The Kings’ teaser includes the number 89 on the back of the sweater. When looking at the teaser for most teams, there appears to be a pattern: these number reference a season in which the team was wearing a jersey with a similar color palette (clue number 2) to the jersey in the video. In fact, you might even say that color scheme is the same, but in reverse. Hence, “Reverse Retro.”
For the Kings, it’s a little bit different. 1989 is when the team switched from the purple and gold color scheme to a much more muted black and silver number, heralding in the arrival of Wayne Gretzky. I’m guessing they will use the Gretzky-era logo on a truly royal color palette, borrowing the purple and gold from the previous regime.
What do you think? Would you buy one — a who’s name would you put on it?