Hockey games could be getting a whole lot colourful this season.
The NHL’s interest in expanding colour-versus-colour uniform matchups has moved from an occasional trial to a formal discussion item in recent weeks, with momentum ramping up following the November 16 meeting between the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, where both clubs wore their dark centennial uniforms. Detroit took the ice in red, New York in blue, creating a regular season game without a white sweater on either bench. Since then, we’ve seen more colour-on-colour Centennial games, including last night’s Blackhawks-Rangers game in Chicago, with reports of additional matchups to come later this season.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels has reported that the league has approved a blue-versus-red meeting between the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche (wearing their Quebec Nordiques throwbacks) for January 29 in Montreal. Anaheim and Los Angeles will go orange and black on January 16, and the Stadium Series game between Boston and Tampa Bay on February 1 will feature gold versus blue. The league has indicated that even more colourful games could follow.
NHL chief branding officer Brian Jennings told The Athletic that interest from clubs, broadcasters, equipment managers, and Fanatics has been strong, saying the league has been “pushing it along,” and that teams continue to favour coloured jerseys based on sales data and visual results. The approval process is straightforward: a team proposes a matchup, both general managers agree, and the league reviews the combination for visibility and logistics. Jennings also pointed to the 2023 decision allowing contrasting helmets as a key factor, as clubs now routinely travel with multiple helmet sets. Officiating visibility has also been reviewed during these trials, including the recent Red Wings-Rangers game.
All-dark games were standard through the first four decades of NHL play. The New York Rangers did not use a light-coloured uniform at all until the 1950s. The Toronto Maple Leafs added an all-white option in 1927 specifically to avoid confusion when facing the Rangers, and a difficult Leafs vs. Black Hawks matchup three years later prompted further league investigation into the use of dedicated clash uniforms. Colour-versus-colour games continued where possible into the 1950s, and several clubs, such as the Kings, Seals, Canucks, and Penguins, used yellow in place of white at different times from the 1960s through the 1980s. The NHL revisited the format during the league’s 75th anniversary in 1991-92. There was a Canadiens vs. Rangers meeting in 2000, which required a mid-game helmet switch, a handful of outdoor games, and a 2018-19 Carolina Hurricanes request to wear red in Anaheim against the Ducks’ black home set.
When unveiling the uniforms for the 2014 Winter Classic, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told SportsLogos.Net, “We worked with the TV partners, we spoke to hockey operations, we spoke to the managers of both clubs; everybody is comfortable that this will work.” Bettman added that future matchups would depend on the results of the event, which proved to be a visual success.
Other major leagues have already long shifted away from strict light vs. dark uniform matchups. The NBA eliminated location-based uniform designations in 2017, allowing clubs to select any uniform for a game as long as contrast with their opponent is maintained. The NFL tested colour-versus-colour matchups during its Thursday Night “Color Rush” games in the 2010s. That program created difficulties for viewers with colour-vision deficiencies, particularly during the all-red Buffalo Bills vs. all-green New York Jets game, highlighted in a FiveThirtyEight report in 2022 that included comments from several colourblind NHL players about issues distinguishing specific colours during play. The NHL’s traditional light-versus-dark setup has largely avoided what the NFL went through. However, this is after careful review of contrast considerations when assessing potential dark vs dark pairings.
DetroitHockey.Net published an extensive breakdown suggesting that roughly 60 percent of the NHL schedule could support colour-versus-colour games when problematic combinations, such as black versus navy, and matchups that could challenge colourblind viewers are removed, and incorporating alternate uniforms as options.
Complexities extend beyond simple colour contrast. Teams with jersey advertising agreements are often required to wear specific jerseys for a minimum number of games; opting for a home jersey on the road can reduce required road-jersey appearances. Some clubs also wear gambling-related ads on their home jerseys, permissible in their home states but not in certain road markets. These factors must be addressed before a matchup is approved.
A full season with a worthwhile amount of colour-versus-colour games still isn’t guaranteed, but the league’s recent approvals, paired with club-level interest and clearer logistical pathways, suggest a move (beyond a once-every-few-seasons novelty) is on the way. The NHL says it will continue evaluating suitable matchups as the season progresses, prioritizing clear visibility/contrast and ensuring existing uniform commitments are met. If these recent trials go smoothly, as they appear to have, fans should expect to see a more regular mix of such matchups, something that would mark a notable shift from decades of light-versus-dark conventions while drawing on some of the game’s earliest uniform traditions… and that’s a good thing.
