The 2021-22 NHL season marks a major milestone as the league expands to 32 teams by welcoming the Seattle Kraken.
Admittedly, I don’t have a ton of solid information at this point due to a number of factors—not the least of which is the ongoing global pandemic. But below you’ll find the details I do have so far.
Continue on for team-by-team JerseyWatch reports.
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Unveiled 10/12 Following the success of their throwback jersey in 2020, the Kings debuted a new third inspired by that Gretzky-era design. It employs the original crest with new striping and a metallic silver.
Unveiled The Kraken officially released home and road jerseys, which went on sale Sept. 15.
Inaugural Season Logo The Kraken will wear a jersey patch commemorating their inaugural season throughout 2021-22.
Confirmed In an April email to season ticket members, the Coyotes confirmed a new uniform will be released this summer ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Leaked 9/19 A video released early to the Coyotes’ website confirmed the design ahead of the team’s planned unveiling for Monday, Sept. 20.
Confirmed The Avs continue removing black from their uniforms this season. Last year they swapped their traditional black breezers for blue ones. Now the black and silver numbers from the back of the white jersey are blue trimmed in burgundy. The letters have also been changed to burgundy. source
Unveiled 9/10 The Blues will face Minnesota in the 2022 Winter Classic—making their second outdoor appearance. The last time St. Louis was in it, they debuted the throwback they wear as a third jersey today. A “vintage white” counterpart will be used in this game.
Confirmed On Aug. 13, the Jets announced the blue Heritage sweater would return as the third jersey for 14 games during the 2021-22 season. This effectively retires the Aviator Blue uniform after three seasons. source
Unveiled 9/4 Minnesota will host the 2022 Winter Classic on Jan. 1 against the St. Louis Blues at at Target Field. Their uniform for the event was inspired by teams from the state’s hockey history. source
Possible In 2019-20, the Wild were slated for a new third jersey but Michael Russo of The Athletic reported the team wasn’t thrilled with the TV camera tests and scrapped it. source
Russo added that if the Wild got the Winter Classic, a new third jersey would likely wait at least another season—now looking like 2022-23. source
Possible When they take the ice in October, the Golden Knights will be starting their fifth season in Las Vegas. Teams don’t always have anniversary logos after only five years, but not having one would seem like a miss considering the team’s logo is a “V” (the Roman numeral for five).
Rumored After adding new road and third jerseys in recent years, the rumor mill now has the Hurricanes rethinking their red home uniform. There’s not a lot to go on here but as always, the rumor stems from comments by team owner Tom Dundon. We’ll keep an eye on it.
Expected The Hurricanes will host their first outdoor game during the 2022-23 season after the 2021 event was canceled due to the pandemic.
The Vegas Golden Knights will play host to the NHL All-Star Weekend for the first time in 2022. The event will take place “during the traditional midpoint of the regular season.”
South Florida had been named to host in 2021, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic. It’s unclear when the Panthers will get another chance to host.
The NHL announced plans to stage a Heritage Classic in March 2022 without naming a location or participating teams.
Confirmed The Nashville Predators will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium on Feb. 26. It will be Tampa Bay’s first appearance in an outdoor game.
Postponed The Carolina Hurricanes had been set to make their first outdoor appearance with the 2021 Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium before the event was postponed due to the pandemic. The Hurricanes say they plan to stage the game in 2023.
Confirmed The Minnesota Wild will host the 2022 Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues at Target Field on New Year’s Day. Both teams are expected to wear some type of retro uniform, as is standard for this event. This will be the second outdoor appearance for both teams.
Confirmed The Predators will host an outdoor game in Nashville for the first time, taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series.
Confirmed Tampa Bay will play an outdoor game for the first time in franchise history when they visit the Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium for the 2022 NHL Stadium Series.
Expected A source tells Icethetics the Flames are planning no alternate uniforms for 2021-22—sticking to their throwback home and road designs only. (But plans are in the works for a new third jersey in 2022.)
Possible Late in the season, the Blue Jackets experimented with navy blue pants over their traditional red. They reportedly wanted to look a little less like the New York Rangers. Will it become a permanent change in 2021-22? Stay tuned.
Rumored Admittedly, I don’t have a solid basis for this report, but there have been rumors about a possible return to royal blue for the Oilers. Whether it would replace the bright orange home sweater or the navy blue alternate, I couldn’t say at this point.
It has been a few years since they team has employed its throwback look, but they do have an Adizero version which launched in 2018 as part of their 40th anniversary celebration.
Expected The Islanders are likely to have a new logo marking their 50th anniversary in 2021-22. A throwback jersey is unlikely since the team current wears uniforms identical to those from their early years.
New Arena The Isles are slated to begin play in the new UBS Arena this season. Teams often wear commemorative patches or decals when opening a new building, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
Speculation The Rangers were among teams rumored to be adding a new third jersey last season. Following the acclaimed return of the Lady Liberty jersey as part of the Reverse Retro series, could the possibility be back on the table this year?
Expected Though it’s been a tumultuous time for the Senators on and off the ice, they could plan to mark their 30th anniversary in 2021-22. The team celebrated 25 years during the 2016-17 season, so I’m just doing the math there. There’s been no announcement yet.
Expected After giving it a year off, the Sharks are expected to bring back their black third jersey in 2021-22. The team shelved it this past season to give more time to their 30th anniversary throwback and grey Reverse Retro.
Confirmed In an April email to season ticket members, the Coyotes confirmed a new uniform will be released this summer ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Leaked 9/19 A video released early to the Coyotes’ website confirmed the design ahead of the team’s planned unveiling for Monday, Sept. 20.
Expected A source tells Icethetics the Flames are planning no alternate uniforms for 2021-22—sticking to their throwback home and road designs only. (But plans are in the works for a new third jersey in 2022.)
Rumored After adding new road and third jerseys in recent years, the rumor mill now has the Hurricanes rethinking their red home uniform. There’s not a lot to go on here but as always, the rumor stems from comments by team owner Tom Dundon. We’ll keep an eye on it.
Expected The Hurricanes will host their first outdoor game during the 2022-23 season after the 2021 event was canceled due to the pandemic.
Confirmed The Avs continue removing black from their uniforms this season. Last year they swapped their traditional black breezers for blue ones. Now the black and silver numbers from the back of the white jersey are blue trimmed in burgundy. The letters have also been changed to burgundy. source
Possible Late in the season, the Blue Jackets experimented with navy blue pants over their traditional red. They reportedly wanted to look a little less like the New York Rangers. Will it become a permanent change in 2021-22? Stay tuned.
Rumored Admittedly, I don’t have a solid basis for this report, but there have been rumors about a possible return to royal blue for the Oilers. Whether it would replace the bright orange home sweater or the navy blue alternate, I couldn’t say at this point.
It has been a few years since they team has employed its throwback look, but they do have an Adizero version which launched in 2018 as part of their 40th anniversary celebration.
Unveiled 10/12 Following the success of their throwback jersey in 2020, the Kings debuted a new third inspired by that Gretzky-era design. It employs the original crest with new striping and a metallic silver.
Unveiled 9/4 Minnesota will host the 2022 Winter Classic on Jan. 1 against the St. Louis Blues at at Target Field. Their uniform for the event was inspired by teams from the state’s hockey history. source
Possible In 2019-20, the Wild were slated for a new third jersey but Michael Russo of The Athletic reported the team wasn’t thrilled with the TV camera tests and scrapped it. source
Russo added that if the Wild got the Winter Classic, a new third jersey would likely wait at least another season—now looking like 2022-23. source
The Vegas Golden Knights will play host to the NHL All-Star Weekend for the first time in 2022. The event will take place “during the traditional midpoint of the regular season.”
South Florida had been named to host in 2021, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic. It’s unclear when the Panthers will get another chance to host.
The NHL announced plans to stage a Heritage Classic in March 2022 without naming a location or participating teams.
Confirmed The Nashville Predators will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium on Feb. 26. It will be Tampa Bay’s first appearance in an outdoor game.
Postponed The Carolina Hurricanes had been set to make their first outdoor appearance with the 2021 Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium before the event was postponed due to the pandemic. The Hurricanes say they plan to stage the game in 2023.
Confirmed The Minnesota Wild will host the 2022 Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues at Target Field on New Year’s Day. Both teams are expected to wear some type of retro uniform, as is standard for this event. This will be the second outdoor appearance for both teams.
Confirmed The Predators will host an outdoor game in Nashville for the first time, taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series.
Expected The Islanders are likely to have a new logo marking their 50th anniversary in 2021-22. A throwback jersey is unlikely since the team current wears uniforms identical to those from their early years.
New Arena The Isles are slated to begin play in the new UBS Arena this season. Teams often wear commemorative patches or decals when opening a new building, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
Speculation The Rangers were among teams rumored to be adding a new third jersey last season. Following the acclaimed return of the Lady Liberty jersey as part of the Reverse Retro series, could the possibility be back on the table this year?
Expected Though it’s been a tumultuous time for the Senators on and off the ice, they could plan to mark their 30th anniversary in 2021-22. The team celebrated 25 years during the 2016-17 season, so I’m just doing the math there. There’s been no announcement yet.
Expected After giving it a year off, the Sharks are expected to bring back their black third jersey in 2021-22. The team shelved it this past season to give more time to their 30th anniversary throwback and grey Reverse Retro.
Unveiled The Kraken officially released home and road jerseys, which went on sale Sept. 15.
Inaugural Season Logo The Kraken will wear a jersey patch commemorating their inaugural season throughout 2021-22.
Unveiled 9/10 The Blues will face Minnesota in the 2022 Winter Classic—making their second outdoor appearance. The last time St. Louis was in it, they debuted the throwback they wear as a third jersey today. A “vintage white” counterpart will be used in this game.
Confirmed Tampa Bay will play an outdoor game for the first time in franchise history when they visit the Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium for the 2022 NHL Stadium Series.
Possible When they take the ice in October, the Golden Knights will be starting their fifth season in Las Vegas. Teams don’t always have anniversary logos after only five years, but not having one would seem like a miss considering the team’s logo is a “V” (the Roman numeral for five).
Confirmed On Aug. 13, the Jets announced the blue Heritage sweater would return as the third jersey for 14 games during the 2021-22 season. This effectively retires the Aviator Blue uniform after three seasons. source
