Merchandising 101

You can mark me down right now as someone who won't be supporting the latest NHL jersey craze known as the Retro Reverse. There's no denying that I appreciate hockey's rich history when it comes to what was worn on the ice, but this idea of 31 "retro" jerseys is a ridiculous idea to start with and is simply a way for the NHL to make up some lost merchandising money due to the pandemic. I get that the NHL is a business and it needs to continue to find sources of revenue, but foisting these idiotic ideas for jerseys on the fans is a little insulting to those of us who truly appreciate teams who opt to organically wear a retro jersey as opposed to being told to do so.

Queue up your "old man yells at clouds" memes for this article, kids, because I'm here to rain on parades, ruin parties, kill buzzes, and end any celebrations for these new NHL jerseys. Specifically, one team's reverse retro jersey. I'm already not a fan, and we haven't even seen a full reveal yet.

We've been treated to some teasers from various teams on social media over the last few weeks that have been curious and shocking, but there's no doubt that today's teaser from the Avalanche had everyone excited about what the Avalanche would be introducing. The burgundy fleur-de-lis to the right stirred up memories of the Nordiques for everyone, but it should be noted that the Avalanche have zero ties to the actual meaning of what the fleurs-de-lis stood for or how the original jerseys came to be for the Quebec Nordiques. This, to me, is important because the historical components to a team's jerseys or symbols should take priority when it comes to using them as a throwback or "reverse retro" jersey.

The history of the Quebec flag shows us that these symbols have a deep meaning to the people of Quebec. The fleur-de-lis symbol originated in Quebec with their ties to France as the European French used the symbol to denote the French monarchy in 12th-century France under Louis VI. It would be under Henry II that Quebec was first settled with a permanent trading post being established in 1608 under Henry IV. From that point on, New France, as Quebec City was originally called, flew the French flag with the fleur-de-lis to show their country's affiliation and dedication to the ruling French monarch in this new land. The flag was not the current incarnation, seen to the upper-left, though.

The current Quebec flag, it should be noted, was adopted by Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council in 1948 and confirmed by the province's legislature in 1950. Until 1948, the famed Union Jack flew over Quebec, but les Quebecois wanted their own flag to denote their heritage and differences from British Canada. The Carillon, proposed in 1902, was based on a flag with no cross that had the Virgin Mary at the center with the fleur-de-lis pointing inward from the corners. As stated above, though, the people of Quebec pushed for a provincial flag, and the flag known as the Carillon-Sacré-Coeur served as the basis of the Quebec flag in both design and colour. With the religious elements removed from the flag, the fleurs-de-lis were moved to the middle of the blue rectangles, and this new flag was adopted in 1948.

While the Nordiques started their WHA days with significantly different jerseys, they are definitely most remembered for their iconic blue-and-white jerseys with the fleur-de-lis symbols on the hemline that first saw the ice in 1975-76 in the WHA. The basis for that design is their provincial flag, something of which they are proud and fiercely protective when one considers what it means. To see those symbols used in a colour that's not associated with Quebec on Colorado's "reverse retro" jersey is somewhat disrespectful in my view.

Let's turn the tables here. If the Avalanche had moved north to Quebec City, would it be ok for the Nordiques to wear the Colorado state flag as a "reverse retro" jersey? I'm thinking it wouldn't be appreciated by people from the state of Colorado, and it's a little rude to claim something that's held in such high regard by non-hockey fans as one's own.

On top of that, what if the Nordiques changed the state flag's colours to match their own colour scheme? Does that make it worse? Does it lose its meaning or its symbolism? I would assume it does since Colorado established those colours as representative of the state and the people so that the flag was unique and held meaning. Does the image to the above-right feel like a Colorado state flag if I render it in Nordiques colours? Should the NHL be allowed to do something like this and stomp all over history in an effort to make a few dollars?

I know some of you are saying that I'm taking this way too seriously and I need to lighten up. I respect that these "reverse retro" jerseys are a concept that won't be seen on the ice as often as the teams' primary uniforms, but I'll maintain they still should follow good design rules. One of those rules should be that teams have to respect the history of the franchises previous incarnations, something that the Avalanche aren't doing with the burgundy fleur-de-lis symbols on their jersey.

Would this precedent allow the San Jose Sharks to wear the Ohio sleeve numbers like the Cleveland Barons wore? I doubt they would. That would be dumb to have a California-based team wearing a state on their sleeves where they only play once per season despite both franchises being owned, at one time, by George Gund III. It's also dumb because that state carries meaning for everyone in Ohio, and there are likely a pile of Ohio hockey fans who cheer for the Blue Jackets as opposed to the Sharks. Using the state imagery for San Jose's bottom line would just come across as tacky and uncool.

I know the excitement for hockey fans is real when there's a chance the Nordiques can be ressurected one way or another, but this isn't it. Had the Avalanche simply wore the blue-and-white jerseys that the Nordiques did, I'd have less issue with this because at least they're honouring the team and its history in a respectful way. Taking their symbols, recolouring them, and using them for their own purposes is not "retro" at all. It's kind of gross, actually.

I'm not a fan of the reverse retro jerseys to start with, but seeing what the Avalanche are doing has left a bad taste in my mouth altogether when it comes to the symbolism of what the Nordiques jersey meant. Dancing on a team's grave will never be retrocool in my books.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!