The Los Angeles Kings gathered fans together tonight for their annual State of the Franchise event where they unveiled a new Adidas throwback jersey that will be worn twice late in the 2019-20 season.
Further photos and details were released online shortly after. There’s also this press release on the Kings’ website.
This Adizero edition of the white sweater worn by the team from 1988 to 1998 will be released on February 20, 2020. It will then be worn for a pair of Saturday home games late in the season. The first will be on February 22 against the Colorado Avalanche—just a week after those two teams face off in the 2020 NHL Stadium Series. The Kings are dubbing that game ’90s Night.
The other game is even more interesting and will be March 21 when the Kings host the Vancouver Canucks. Why so interesting? This one’s being called ’80s Night. Hey, who’s the other NHL team wearing a throwback jersey from the 1980s next season?
The Canucks previously announced two home games for their retro jersey in January and April. I’ll be genuinely surprised if we don’t see this uniform matchup for the game in L.A. as well.
Speaking of being genuinely surprised, this is one of my favorite unveilings of the summer because I didn’t see it coming! If you’re wondering why it was never featured in the JerseyWatch, that’s why. I had no idea it was in the pipeline. But it’s a great throwback addition after seeing the Kings break out their “Forum blue” and gold threads in recent years.
What we’re still expecting from the Kings is their Stadium Series uniform—typically a more radical design as opposed to the more traditional looks we tend to see in the NHL.
Now, if you’re doing that math in your head quick, you’re not going crazy. This means the 2019-20 Kings will be one of those rare teams that employs five different uniforms in a single season. The last time I recall it happening was in 2013-14 when the Anaheim Ducks wore a 20th anniversary Mighty Ducks throwback and a Stadium Series jersey in addition to their home/road/alternate set.
The Kings shared a little short film—featuring a kid who was undoubtedly born well after they stopped wearing this jersey—that culminated with this shot of the jersey hanging in the locker room.
So what do you think? Are you a ’90s kid happy to see this one making a comeback? Or do you feel like the NHL needs fewer black-and-white uniforms?
