Staff Reaction to the Chicago Blackhawks New Retro Jerseys

The Chicago Blackhawks’ new retro jerseys have some fans calling for pre-orders and other fans calling for a redo. Today our staff wanted to share their thoughts on the uniform.

Whether or not you like the Chicago Blackhawks retro uniforms, I think everyone agrees there were some cool designs from around the NHL. I think that is why some fans were upset, they wanted more out of the ‘Hawks uniform.

Matt Kamholz:

The 1940s-inspired threads got some hate on social media for sure, but I actually kind of like the look. We’ve wanted the black 3rds back for ages and we’re finally re-using the older style logo seen on the 09 Winter Classics. I’m a sucker for black and red together and I’ve personally wanted to see a design using off-color shoulder patches for some time now. Maybe if they added a white stripe along the bottom to balance out the shoulder line it would look better, but I like the product we’ve got. Now the real test, how do they look in-game. If Colorado hit a home run, Chicago’s are a legged out double.

Shaun Filippelli:

Organizations had a chance to step outside the box with their Reverse Retro jerseys. And while some did, the Blackhawks are not amongst that group. Chicago kept things simple and sleek, in a traditional and boring way.

They could have done more, in a variety of ways, but chose to play it safe. It’s not that keeping things classic is necessarily a bad route to take in any other case but this was a chance to do more for the fans. Many of these new designs help showcase the identity and uniqueness of the city they represent. Chicago simply looks like a revised version of what they’ve already done countless times before and their supporters deserved better.

Jeremiah Lee:

My first impression of this new jersey was that it had a promising design, but I couldn’t get a long enough view to come to any conclusions. The numbers with the new red trim is a nice touch, but the amount of each color looks kind of awkward from the angles they displayed.

The black was sandwiched between red shoulder plates and a band of red around the bottom of the jersey didn’t exactly look like it fit. The retro logo is a great add-in my opinion, giving it a new feel and not just a “reimagined” version of the black alternate jersey from the 2010s (Though I like those better than the retro). Nothing will beat the classic home jerseys of the Chicago Blackhawks, but I will have to see this new design on the ice before I make my final decision.

Tyler Popp:

When the reverse retros were released I couldn’t wait to see what the Hawks went with. Being an original six-team the options were endless and based on all black and whites from the winter classic a couple of years ago I had high hopes.

Unfortunately, I was pretty underwhelmed. The Blackhawks are widely known to have the best jersey in sports and you think they’d lead the charge in this as well but most definitely they don’t. By themselves they are passable but when you look at what half the league went with you can’t help but be disappointed. Hey at least they’re better than what the Wings went with

Seth Stauffer: 

The Blackhawks revealed their new threads and when I saw the images, my opinion was “meh”. It’s a slick, but safe design. The alternate jerseys for Chicago have been black for a long time, and this new offering wasn’t really taking any risks. It would have been nice if the organization let the designers be a bit more creative with something that isn’t likely to ever become the team’s actual uniform or even last for very long.

There are a lot of directions they could have gone with this, but a few ideas that might have been more interesting would have been to try using different colors, like orange and green which are already a part of the logo. They could have tried something that was a nod to the city of Chicago itself. Finally, they could have courted some controversy and tried a completely new and different design that didn’t feature its current depiction of Chief Black Hawk, or any iconography relating to indigenous peoples. This last one was probably avoided deliberately, but if you ever wanted to really shake things up, then an alternate jersey that would barely ever be used in actual games is the best time to do something different.

Jake Wheeler: 

I like the idea of the NHL teams doing reverse retro jerseys. This allows for many of the clubs to pay homage to who they were in the past. Whether they were in a different city, had different logos or different team colors, it is a neat idea. In particular, I like the Blackhawks jersey. The Blackhawks have been in so many outdoor games where they need a new jersey, but they continue to have good ideas on new jerseys.

The logo the Blackhawks chose for the jersey is the best one they could have picked. This logo was around when the Blackhawks first became a team, so it pays homage to the team back during their early years. The color scheme I really like, too. It has the Blackhawks three traditional colors, which are red, black, and white. Since we’re on the topic, one jersey I wouldn’t mind coming back is the Hawks black alternate jersey from the mid-2000s. If the NHL only plans on using these reverse retros during this season, I would love to see the Blackhawks bring those back. While their red jersey is the best in the NHL, it would be cool to see another jersey in the mix, especially since it is a fan favorite.

Jimmy Lynch:

Personally, I think the retro jerseys are fine. They aren’t great, but they do provide something different for the team. I think because of how many winter classics and stadium series games Chicago has been in the past decade they were stuck to provide something different from the fans.

Justin Klawans: 

I like the mix of retro and modern looks that the jersey has. I’ve always really liked their throwback Chief Black Hawk logo so I’m glad they used it here, plus the primary black color looks sleek with the red trim around it. It seems like they went with a mix of the 2009 Winter Classic jerseys and the late 2000s black alternate jerseys, which makes for a neat combination. I would’ve liked shoulder patches to complete the look, but overall, still a cool and simple jersey. I’d give it a 7/10.