3 reasons why the NHL should have more color vs color games

The NHL is making great strides toward having teams wear color jerseys against each other in regular-season games. This has drawn interest from fans, and the New York Rangers have done so against their Original Six Rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

Traditionally, the NHL has used the dark vs. white uniform rule, with home teams wearing their colored jerseys and road teams wearing their white jerseys. But this season, the league has encouraged teams to wear their colored uniforms in a color vs color matchup.

There are three reasons of why this would be great for the league!

1. Nostalgia

Everybody loves old school hockey, no? This idea brings back the old school hockey vibes. Recently, in the Blackhawks' 3-0 shutout win over the Rangers, the two teams wore their centennial jerseys, to celebrate 100 years of their historic franchises.

This was far by one of the best matchups of this 2025-26 NHL season.

2. Entertainment

Another reason the NHL should keep doing this is for entertainment. Hockey fans pay their hard-earned money to watch hockey games and want to see entertainment. This would be one of the things that would make games entertaining to watch.

Fans will be talking about this for days. The centennial matchup between the Rangers and Blackhawks made a familiar Original Six rivalry feel new and added energy to the broadcast and arena experience. Fans certainly got their money's worth for that game.

3. Marketing and Promotion Benefits

Now, let's get to the business side of it. This will be great marketing from the league, draw fan engagement, and increase revenue. Most jerseys that fans buy are home jerseys, not road jerseys.

Recently, the NHL released the Stadium Series jerseys for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Both jerseys are colored jerseys, creating a blue-on-gold matchup. It wasn't like this for last year's Stadium Series between the Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets, or the 2024 Stadium Series. League officials see this as a way to increase fan interest and grow the league's brand.

Not every matchup will be a color vs color matchup, but at least a small 10% could feature color-on-color matchups.

If this trend continues, color vs color games could become a regular feature of the NHL schedule. If not, well, it was worth a try.