The NHL is no stranger to having retro nights, and different teams celebrate in unique ways. We have seen throwback jerseys, 90's game presentation, and even vintage scoreboard graphics taking over the state-of-the-art video boards. However, one thing we haven't seen are vintage ice designs.
Changing up the ice designs for a single game would certainly be the most-costly way to celebrate, but would it be unreasonable? Considering the NHL already requires every playoff team to swap out their corner in-ice advertisements each year, surely this would not be all that different. Special events such as the Allstar Game often require the entire rink to be painted over with new logos and ads which can later be shaved off brining the return of the original layout.
So, what if each team repainted their ice for just one night? For this post we will stick with the current neutral zone dimensions with the current faceoff circles, goal crease, trapezoids, etc. We will be looking at what each team could do to bring a piece of their ice history into the current rink layout. Along the way, we will break a few of the ice regulations such as interrupting the red line, but nothing that the NHL hasn't broken itself with events such as the Winter Classic. Here is what we have come up with.
Anaheim Ducks
Inspired by the 1995 season, we bring back the Mighty Duck and the unique red line pattern.
Boston Bruins
Inspired by the 1994 season and the last non-commemorative ice layout used at the Boston Garden.
Buffalo Sabres
Inspired by the 1997 season with the Hasek era logo.
Calgary Flames
Inspired by the 1995 season.
Carolina Hurricanes
Inspired by the 1998 season.
Chicago Blackhawks
Inspired by the 1994 season. This was the final layout used in the Chicago Stadium.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have always had a giant primary logo at center ice (aside from anniversary logos) so this one is more of a hypothetical layout. We gave it a retro feel with two smaller logos and the 1996 red line.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Inspired by the 2001 season.
Dallas Stars
Inspired by the 1999 season.
Detroit Red Wings
Inspired by the 2000 season, the Hockeytown text returns. The Little Caesars Arena text has been turned blue to look more like the Joe Louis Arena text of the time. This might seem unlikely for a brand to change their colors for such a night, but the brand is all under the same umbrella as the team.
Edmonton Oilers
Inspired by the 1994 season, the Rogers Place logo is perfect for bringing back that Northlands Coliseum vibe.
Florida Panthers
Inspired by the 2001 season. We brought back the oldest version of the head-only logo. This would have been from the "National Car Rental Center" days.
Los Angeles Kings
Inspired by the 1997 season, Crytpo.com Arena is far from the Great Western Forum namesake, but it will have to do for this layout.
Minnesota Wild
Inspired by the 2002 season. The arena name is set to change next season so we hope whatever the new name is might fit in well with this layout.
Montreal Canadiens
Inspired by the final season in the Montreal Forum, we are bringing back the much smaller dual layout and red line design.
Nashville Predators
Inspired by the 1999 season.
New Jersey Devils
Inspired by the 1983 season with a unique layout for the old green and red logos.
New York Islanders
Inspired by the 1996 season, bring on the fisherman logo.
New York Rangers
Bringing back the exact center ice layout from the 1997 season.
Ottawa Senators
Inspired by their first layout in the inaugural 1993 season. Their first ice featured 2 Senators logos and 2 67's logos which represented the two teams to call this home ice. It seemed pretty fitting to feature the Senators logos 4 times to bring back that same general look.
Philadelphia Flyers
Inspired by the 1982 season at the old Spectrum. We do not know what the arena name will be next season, but perhaps it would look best to just used "Philadelphia" on the ice for this one game. This was styled to bring back memories of the "Spectrum" text that was featured on the '82 center ice.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Bringing back Igloo vibes with this 1995 inspiration.
San Jose Sharks
Inspired by the 1998 season.
Seattle Kraken
It is pretty tough to have a retro night when your team is only a couple seasons old. For Seattle, we are just giving them a dual logo treatment.
St. Louis Blues
Inspired by the 1999 season at Kiel Center.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Inspired by the 1998 season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Inspired by the 1995 season at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Vancouver Canucks
Inspired by the 1971 season as the Canucks joined the NHL.
Vegas Golden Knights
Another team with a very short history. The Golden Knights always have the most impressive and unique designs, so we will give them a retro vide by simply using their primary logo on both sides of the red line.
Washington Capitals
Inspired by the 1988 season.
Winnipeg Jets
Inspired by both the 1991 and 1996 seasons. We brought back the 1991 season logo, but the red line comes from the final season for the original Jets team.
Note: We did not include Utah as they have no history to work off of, and do not yet have a brand to really work with. What would you like to see on ice for a Retro Night? Let us know in the comments below.