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Avalanche Drawing Rave Reviews For Nordiques-Inspired Jersey

Use of the Nordiques logo with Avalanche team colors has been praised by critics NHL

The Avalanche are garnering widespread approval for their new Reverse Retro jersey, which was released yesterday, as the Nordiques-themed design is the "jersey we all wanted to see,” according to Ryan Kennedy of THE HOCKEY NEWS. Kennedy put it atop his rankings of all 31 jerseys and noted, “With Colorado colors, it's outstanding, right down to the Fleur-de-Lis border at the bottom and on the shoulders.” The Nordiques relocated from Quebec City to Denver and rebranded as the Avalanche in '95 (SI.com, 11/16). ESPN.com’s Greg Wyshynski also ranked the Avs jersey No. 1 and wrote it is the “best of the reverse retro collection, and it's not really particularly close.” This is the “most overt use of Nordiques iconography in franchise history” since team relocated to Denver in ’95. Wyshynksi: “We see it as a clean, striking tribute to a franchise's past -- and the most successful blending of old and new among these 31 jerseys” (ESPN.com, 11/16). In Denver, Mike Chambers noted the jersey features the Nordiques' “igloo logo" and has "'COL' and '79' on the back neck -- representing the year Quebec entered the NHL” (DENVER POST, 11/16).

MIXED RECEPTION IN ORIGINAL HOME: In Quebec City, Stephane Cadorette notes while the Avalanche jersey “seems to be receiving near unanimous praise,” some diehard Nordiques fans “are divided on the message it sends.” While some “see a nice homage, others look at it as an insult, a rekindling of the wound from the team’s departure from Quebec.” Some even see the idea of an homage as “troubling at a time where Quebec is still patiently waiting, hoping to see the Nordiques return.” Quebec City-based CJMF-FM’s Jerome Landry said, “The jersey is nice, but it’s twisting the knife a bit. Above all, it’s a big cash grab by the NHL. It’s kind of hypocritical” (LE JOURNAL DE QUEBEC, 11/17).

BEST OF THE REST: In Boston, Matt Porter writes he loves the Panthers' jersey, as it is “just a well-balanced look.” The colors are “modern and the look is '90s-retro without being garish.” Porter: “The original, realistic Panther and the stick-and-palm-tree shoulder patch are a killer combo” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/17). In Ottawa, Don Brennan writes some of his favorite jerseys are the Rangers and the “strong blue surrounding the return of Lady Liberty;” the Sabres, as “ching-ching is the sound of the swords as well as the cash register;” and the Bruins, as he likes “mustard and smartly placed black and white stripes” (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 11/17).

WHALE WATCHING: In Vancouver, Ben Kuzma notes the Canucks franchise has had “multiple logos and colours in its 50-year history,” so loyalty to the orca whale logo on the new jerseys is “part tradition and part marketing.” Despite an “ongoing clamour from some segments of the hockey populace for a return of the flying ‘V’, flying skate, skate-in-rink and Johnny Canuck as the main branding element, focus groups have continually told the Canucks of a provincewide affection for the orca” (Vancouver PROVINCE, 11/17).

HIDING FROM THE TRUTH? THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell wrote it looked like the NHL was “trying to slide” the Blackhawks' jersey past “without people noticing.” The Blackhawks were the only team in which fans following the league’s Twitter feed got to see “only the back of the sweater.” Campbell: “Either you embrace your racism and cultural appropriation or you don’t. What the NHL and the Blackhawks are doing when they try to pull these sleights-of-hand is the worst way to go” (SI.com, 11/16).

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