2021-2024 Adidas Primegreen
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Jerseys |
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Manufacturer: Adidas
Material: Primegreen Home (Red): Connor Bedard Size 56 Away (White): TBD Reverse Retro 2.0 (Red): Tyler Johnson Size 54 |
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Jersey History |
In an effort to promote environmental sustainability, Adidas would change the material of their jerseys to be made with a minimum 50% recycled contents. This new design was dubbed Adizero Primegreen and was first debuted during the 2019 All-Star Game. The announcement was made after the 2020-21 season that all teams were going to use the Primegreen material which featured a subtle fabric change while still keeping the look and performance of the Adizero jerseys of earlier seasons. There were some subtle jersey design changes around the league, mostly with logos and shoulder patches, but the Hawks kept their design from last season with no major changes. All jerseys would have a screen printed Primegreen logo below the inside back neck collar and a Primegreen logo tag on the back bottom hem.
Primegreen Collar Logo
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Primegreen Back Hem Tag
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The tagging on the jersey would remain the same as the past jerseys as well with the neck showing country of manufacturing and numerical size. The hip tags included material and washing information as well as manufacture date.
Adidas is still refusing to sell the actual authentic on-ice jerseys at retail, much to my chagrin. Some teams have partnered with retailers like MeiGray Group to sell the on-ice models, while others have sold them directly. Indo-zeros and Fanatics would still be sold through retail and, with the Hawks, the only way to get true Primegreen jerseys, still dubbed MiC (Made in Canada), would be team issued or game worn. With the front office turnover, there would be no convention still in 2022 or 2023 and game worns from the past season would not be sold as usual. The Hawks decided to sell all their jerseys through the team store and would mark them all as team issued. Each jersey would come with a UPC which you can then check to see if it was actually game worn through the Hawks website. The prices for these jerseys were ridiculously high for jerseys not guaranteed to be game worn and it was unsure if all the jerseys would actually be sold from seasons past. Hopefully the convention will return sometime and the jerseys can be released at some point to the standard of previous years.
Well with the great success of the Reverse Retro jersey program, the NHL decided to do it again! Every NHL team would again choose a retro jersey style and reverse the color scheme or change the design slightly. The Hawks would wear a reverse retro of their 1937-1939 jerseys, but would use their current main logo as a shoulder patch and would replace the front logo with a "CHICAGO" wordmark. The back neck area would have the full year, 1938, the jersey was based off, the back Adidas tag would only have the logo with no wordmark, and the front NHL shield would return to orange. They would wear these jerseys 5 times during the 2022-23 season.
Neck Tagging and Orange NHL Shield
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Main Logo Shoulder Patch
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Adidas Back Neck Logo
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Another Hawks legend, Tony Esposito, would pass away during the summer of 2021. To commemorate him, the Hawks would wear a "35" patch throughout the 2021-22 season. Hawks owner and CEO Rocky Wirtz would also pass away during the summer of 2023. The Hawks would also commemorate him with a "ROCKY" patch worn throughout the 2023-24 season.
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Tony Esposito Memorial
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Rocky Wirtz Memorial
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Team History |
2021-2022: Let's get Kraken! The NHL officially welcomes a new franchise this season, the Seattle Kraken! They would play in the Pacific Division which would move the Arizona Coyotes to the Central and the NHL would finally have even divisions again with 32 teams. In even better news, the COVID vaccines have arrived and the NHL season is scheduled to be a full 82 game season. Outdoor games would be back with the Wild hosting the Blues at Target Field on January 1, 2022 for the Winter Classic. The Stadium Series would be played at Nissan Stadium between the Predators and Lightning on February 26, 2022. The Heritage Classic would also return with the Sabres taking on the Maple Leafs at Tim Hortons Field on March 13, 2022. Also, fans are welcomed back into the stadiums! Most stadiums would have a vaccine or negative COVID test mandate along with mask requirements. It is an exciting return of hockey for sure! In bad news, there's a new COVID variant that is very contagious, but not very dangerous for vaccinated individuals. This variant has torn through the NHL causing many games to be postponed, a brief stop in the season at the end of 2021, and players not to be able to participate in the Olympics. There's also a decent anti-vaccination movement in North America as people continue to hospitalize themselves and die by not getting the vaccine. The NHL would not mandate the vaccine, but would still place some heavy restrictions on unvaccinated players which would restrict their travel, games played, and salary. Canada would also keep some of it's stricter regulations of quarantining after crossing the border for these unvaccinated players. Luckily, only a couple of players would refuse the vaccine. Last piece of negative news, the NHL voted to approve ads...on jerseys...It appears nothing is sacred anymore as teams will be implementing jersey ads the following season.
With the Hawks, Toews would officially be back for this season, but another Hawks dynasty core member would leave as Duncan Keith would request a trade to play in Canada. With the pandemic, he wasn't able to see his family often and was traded to the Oilers to be close with them. After much front office turnover from the paragraph below and a record of 1-9-2 to start the season, interim GM Kyle Davidson would relieve Jeremy Colliton from his head coaching duties and the Icehogs coach Derek King would step in as interim. Now coached by Derek King and still captained by Jonathan Toews, the Hawks finished the season 7th in the Central Division, 14th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 28-42-12 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Kane with 92pts followed by DeBrincat (78pts), Seth Jones (51pts), and Dylan Strome (48pts). The Hawks would not make the post season this year unfortunately, but the Tampa Bay Lighting would yet again make the Stanley Cup Finals! They would not be able to threepeat this year as a dominant Colorado Avalanche would go on to win their third franchise Stanley Cup in 6 games.
It is hard to be a Hawks fan this season, and not just because they are bad. An ongoing investigation by Jenner & Block found that a former Blackhawks player, Kyle Beach, was sexually assaulted by the video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2009-2010 season. Beach had reported this to as many higher ups in the organization as he could, but his cries fell upon deaf ears as the organization did nothing to address the matter as they felt it would deter them from winning. Aldrich would finally be let go at the end of the season, after celebrating the cup win, where he would go on to coach at the high school level and again rape a 16 year old. He was finally caught here, but only served 9 months of jail time and is a registered sex offender in Michigan. Beach, unfortunately, would be buried in the AHL and carry this awful trauma with him. Being a first round pick, I had always wondered why he never got a call up with the Hawks. There were always reports that he was a bad locker room presence, but it all makes sense now. After the Jenner & Block investigative report was given to the Blackhawks, the Wirtz's immediately had any executive involved with the team during that season resign or be fired. This included Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac, Jay Blunk, Kevin Cheveldayoff, John McDonough, and Joel Quenneville. Kyle Davidson would take over as interim GM during this time. The NHL would step in to speak with Quenneville and Cheveldayoff as they were with different organizations. Quenneville would end up getting fired as he directly oversaw Aldrich, but Cheveldayoff would not as he was assistant GM at the time and was found to be absolved of the final decision regarding Aldrich. Professional sports have always had a twisted view of win above all else, but having this surface after so many years and knowing so many of the people who made the Hawks a dynasty during this time were involved, it makes me sick and puts an ugly scar on the Hawks "glory days." I wish the best for Beach in life and am glad the Hawks at least took the right steps in cleaning house and I hope they do more in the future to promote and grow a safe environment for their players and staff. You can read the full Jenner & Block report here, but be aware that it does get graphic.
2022-2023: Well hey we're back to some normalcy here as the season is kicked-off on time with no delays in site. COVID restrictions would be at a minimum and fan excitement would be at a maximum. The season would start overseas with the Global Series returning having the Sharks and Predators play two games in Prague, Czechia. The Blue Jackets and the Avalanche would also play abroad in Tampere, Finland in November. The Winter Classic would again have the Bruins host the Penguins at Fenway Park on January 2, 2023. The Stadium Series saw a new face as the Hurricanes would host the Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium on February 18, 2023. The NHL would also bring back the Reverse Retro jersey program this year, with every team introducing a new alternate jersey with a reverse color scheme or design from a retro jersey. Some terrible news though, as 11 teams would introduce an advertisement patch on their jerseys. The NHL has stated that a single jersey and helmet ad would be allowed for every team moving forward. Luckily the Hawks did not add a jersey patch this season. Well after everything that happened last season, the Hawks decided to blow up the team. Pretty much everyone was not re-signed or was traded, and it was announced by GM Davidson that Kane and Toews would not be re-signed with the Hawks at the end of the season. The end of this season would truly mark the end of the dynasty the Hawks once had. Kane would be traded to the Rangers before the end of the season to go cup chasing and Toews would finish the season with the Hawks with uncertainty for his future as he deals with health issues. Derek King would stick around as an assistant coach, but Luke Richardson would be brought in as the new head coach. In good news though, Marián Hossa would have his jersey retired on November 20th. Now coached by Luke Richardson and still captained by Jonathan Toews, the Hawks would finish the season 8th in the Central Division, 15th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 26-49-7 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Max Domi with 49pts followed by Kane (45pts), Andreas Athanasiou (40pts), and Taylor Raddysh (37pts). With these point totals the Hawks obviously did not make the playoffs. Two teams who have never won the Stanley Cup made it to the finals though with the Florida Panthers facing the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas would dominate though, winning their first franchise Cup in 5 games!
2023-2024: Haters be hatin' but here come the Hawks with the first overall draft pick!!! A clean slate rebuild and Connor Bedard!! I haven't felt this much excitement since Toews and Kane, the other first overall pick, were drafted. COVID has now evolved into something similar to the flu or cold so hopefully I can stop talking about it! The season would start overseas again with the Global Series in Melbourne, Australia with the Los Angeles Kings taking on the Arizona Coyotes. The Global Series would continue in November with the Red Wings, Wild, Maple Leafs, and Senators playing games in Stockholm, Sweden. The Heritage Classic would return this year with the Flames taking on the Oilers at Commonwealth Stadium on October 29, 2023. The Winter Classic would have two new faces finally with Seattle hosting Vegas at T-Mobile Park on January 1, 2024. We'd have two Stadium Series games this year as well as the Devils would face the Flyers and the Rangers would face the Islanders both at MetLife Stadium on February 17 and 18, 2024 respectively. In Hawks news, owner Rocky Wirtz would pass away on July 25, 2023 at the age of 70. The Hawks would wear a memorial patch for the entire season and hold a ceremony of remembrance before the beginning of the season. Rocky did so much to bring the franchise back into the light, but his legacy will be tainted by his comments regarding Kyle Beach. Here's hoping the next Wirtz can be even better than the last. In lighter Hawks news, Chris Chelios would have his jersey retired on February 25th. Still coached by Luke Richardson with no one name captain at this point, the Hawks would finish the season 8th in the Central Division, 15th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 23-53-6 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Connor Bedard with 61pts followed by Philipp Kurashev (54pts), Nick Foligno (37pts), and Jason Dickinson (35pts). The Hawks would still finish towards the bottom of the league and not make the playoffs. Another franchise first though as the Florida Panthers would make it back to the finals facing the Edmonton Oilers in what would be a historic 7 game series with the Panthers winning their first franchise Stanley Cup.
With the Hawks, Toews would officially be back for this season, but another Hawks dynasty core member would leave as Duncan Keith would request a trade to play in Canada. With the pandemic, he wasn't able to see his family often and was traded to the Oilers to be close with them. After much front office turnover from the paragraph below and a record of 1-9-2 to start the season, interim GM Kyle Davidson would relieve Jeremy Colliton from his head coaching duties and the Icehogs coach Derek King would step in as interim. Now coached by Derek King and still captained by Jonathan Toews, the Hawks finished the season 7th in the Central Division, 14th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 28-42-12 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Kane with 92pts followed by DeBrincat (78pts), Seth Jones (51pts), and Dylan Strome (48pts). The Hawks would not make the post season this year unfortunately, but the Tampa Bay Lighting would yet again make the Stanley Cup Finals! They would not be able to threepeat this year as a dominant Colorado Avalanche would go on to win their third franchise Stanley Cup in 6 games.
It is hard to be a Hawks fan this season, and not just because they are bad. An ongoing investigation by Jenner & Block found that a former Blackhawks player, Kyle Beach, was sexually assaulted by the video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2009-2010 season. Beach had reported this to as many higher ups in the organization as he could, but his cries fell upon deaf ears as the organization did nothing to address the matter as they felt it would deter them from winning. Aldrich would finally be let go at the end of the season, after celebrating the cup win, where he would go on to coach at the high school level and again rape a 16 year old. He was finally caught here, but only served 9 months of jail time and is a registered sex offender in Michigan. Beach, unfortunately, would be buried in the AHL and carry this awful trauma with him. Being a first round pick, I had always wondered why he never got a call up with the Hawks. There were always reports that he was a bad locker room presence, but it all makes sense now. After the Jenner & Block investigative report was given to the Blackhawks, the Wirtz's immediately had any executive involved with the team during that season resign or be fired. This included Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac, Jay Blunk, Kevin Cheveldayoff, John McDonough, and Joel Quenneville. Kyle Davidson would take over as interim GM during this time. The NHL would step in to speak with Quenneville and Cheveldayoff as they were with different organizations. Quenneville would end up getting fired as he directly oversaw Aldrich, but Cheveldayoff would not as he was assistant GM at the time and was found to be absolved of the final decision regarding Aldrich. Professional sports have always had a twisted view of win above all else, but having this surface after so many years and knowing so many of the people who made the Hawks a dynasty during this time were involved, it makes me sick and puts an ugly scar on the Hawks "glory days." I wish the best for Beach in life and am glad the Hawks at least took the right steps in cleaning house and I hope they do more in the future to promote and grow a safe environment for their players and staff. You can read the full Jenner & Block report here, but be aware that it does get graphic.
2022-2023: Well hey we're back to some normalcy here as the season is kicked-off on time with no delays in site. COVID restrictions would be at a minimum and fan excitement would be at a maximum. The season would start overseas with the Global Series returning having the Sharks and Predators play two games in Prague, Czechia. The Blue Jackets and the Avalanche would also play abroad in Tampere, Finland in November. The Winter Classic would again have the Bruins host the Penguins at Fenway Park on January 2, 2023. The Stadium Series saw a new face as the Hurricanes would host the Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium on February 18, 2023. The NHL would also bring back the Reverse Retro jersey program this year, with every team introducing a new alternate jersey with a reverse color scheme or design from a retro jersey. Some terrible news though, as 11 teams would introduce an advertisement patch on their jerseys. The NHL has stated that a single jersey and helmet ad would be allowed for every team moving forward. Luckily the Hawks did not add a jersey patch this season. Well after everything that happened last season, the Hawks decided to blow up the team. Pretty much everyone was not re-signed or was traded, and it was announced by GM Davidson that Kane and Toews would not be re-signed with the Hawks at the end of the season. The end of this season would truly mark the end of the dynasty the Hawks once had. Kane would be traded to the Rangers before the end of the season to go cup chasing and Toews would finish the season with the Hawks with uncertainty for his future as he deals with health issues. Derek King would stick around as an assistant coach, but Luke Richardson would be brought in as the new head coach. In good news though, Marián Hossa would have his jersey retired on November 20th. Now coached by Luke Richardson and still captained by Jonathan Toews, the Hawks would finish the season 8th in the Central Division, 15th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 26-49-7 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Max Domi with 49pts followed by Kane (45pts), Andreas Athanasiou (40pts), and Taylor Raddysh (37pts). With these point totals the Hawks obviously did not make the playoffs. Two teams who have never won the Stanley Cup made it to the finals though with the Florida Panthers facing the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas would dominate though, winning their first franchise Cup in 5 games!
2023-2024: Haters be hatin' but here come the Hawks with the first overall draft pick!!! A clean slate rebuild and Connor Bedard!! I haven't felt this much excitement since Toews and Kane, the other first overall pick, were drafted. COVID has now evolved into something similar to the flu or cold so hopefully I can stop talking about it! The season would start overseas again with the Global Series in Melbourne, Australia with the Los Angeles Kings taking on the Arizona Coyotes. The Global Series would continue in November with the Red Wings, Wild, Maple Leafs, and Senators playing games in Stockholm, Sweden. The Heritage Classic would return this year with the Flames taking on the Oilers at Commonwealth Stadium on October 29, 2023. The Winter Classic would have two new faces finally with Seattle hosting Vegas at T-Mobile Park on January 1, 2024. We'd have two Stadium Series games this year as well as the Devils would face the Flyers and the Rangers would face the Islanders both at MetLife Stadium on February 17 and 18, 2024 respectively. In Hawks news, owner Rocky Wirtz would pass away on July 25, 2023 at the age of 70. The Hawks would wear a memorial patch for the entire season and hold a ceremony of remembrance before the beginning of the season. Rocky did so much to bring the franchise back into the light, but his legacy will be tainted by his comments regarding Kyle Beach. Here's hoping the next Wirtz can be even better than the last. In lighter Hawks news, Chris Chelios would have his jersey retired on February 25th. Still coached by Luke Richardson with no one name captain at this point, the Hawks would finish the season 8th in the Central Division, 15th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 23-53-6 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Connor Bedard with 61pts followed by Philipp Kurashev (54pts), Nick Foligno (37pts), and Jason Dickinson (35pts). The Hawks would still finish towards the bottom of the league and not make the playoffs. Another franchise first though as the Florida Panthers would make it back to the finals facing the Edmonton Oilers in what would be a historic 7 game series with the Panthers winning their first franchise Stanley Cup.
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Player History |
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Connor Bedard: How could I not get this guy on my jersey. Not everyday you get a generational talent! Born in North Vancouver, BC, Bedard would be very highly known at a very young age. This status, and his skill of course, would grant him exceptional status from Hockey Canada to enter juniors a year early. He is the first person with this status and would be drafted first overall to the Regina Pats in the WHL. He would win just about every trophy here except a championship. With his skill ever increasing, Bedard would also be drafted first overall to the NHL being selected by the Chicago Blackhawks. He's already made an immediate impact with the Hawks and plays with them today.
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This kid is still 18 years old and he already looks like a superstar. Already a full year into his career and he's already starting to collect hardware. Before the NHL draft, Bedard would be awarded the EJ McGuire Award of Excellence. At the junior level he would be named the 2023 WHL and CHL Player of the Year, 2023 WHL and CHL Top Scorer, and was named to the 2023 CHL First All-Star Team. With his first full season in the NHL he would be a shining star on an abysmal team. He would play 68 games while scoring 22 goals and 61 points. He would also collect his first individual NHL award winning the Calder in 2024.
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Bedard has represented Canada internationally and has collected more hardware here. He's played in the IIHF U18 World Championship in 2022 and won gold in 2021. He's played in the IIHF World Junior Championship and won gold in both 2022 and 2023 collecting the tournament MVP title, named best forward, and was the IIHF Male Player of the Year in 2023. He also participated in the World Championships in 2024. I'm sure I'll be adding a lot more as his career takes off.
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Tyler Johnson: Well he's more well known by his time with the Lightning, but I always like smaller players who excel in the NHL. Born in Liberty Lake, WA, Johnson was undrafted into the NHL due to his size. He was drafted to the WHL in 2005 where he played for the Spokane Chiefs starting in 2007. He had a slow start to his first season but made an immediate impact in the playoffs where he went on to win the Memorial Cup in 2008 and be named playoff MVP. His career trajectory shot up from here as he played three more seasons with the Chiefs. Johnson's last season saw him scoring over 100 points and winning multiple awards. He would immediately sign a three year entry level contract with the Tampa Bay Lighting in 2011 and would be assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. Making another immediate impact here, Johnson would score at over a point per game and lead his team to their first ever Calder Cup in 2012. His next year in the AHL saw the Lighting change their AHL affiliate to the Syracuse Crunch where Johnson would score over a point per game again while winning even more accolades, minus another championship. He would finally make the Lightning's squad full time during the 2013-14 season making yet another immediate impact scoring 50 points and being runner up to Nathan MacKinnon in Calder voting. He would have his best season points wise his sophomore year scoring at almost a point per game in the regular season and playoffs, but ultimately falling short of winning the Stanley Cup. He would eventually achieve this goal winning back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021. After 8 seasons with the Lightning, he was traded the next season to the Blackhawks with a second round pick in 2023 for the contract of Brent Seabrook. He plays with the Hawks today.
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It sucks the Hawks weren't able to get some of his prime years, but it's not like they're winning anything in the near future. Johnson has currently played 731 games in the NHL while scoring 193 goals and 431 points. In the playoffs he's done just as well playing 116 games while scoring 32 goals and 65 points. His trophy case is stacked too. In the WHL he won the Memorial Cup and playoff MVP in 2008, and in 2011 he won the award for most goals, the Brad Hornung Trophy, was player of the year, and was named to the First All-Star Team. In the AHL he won the Calder Cup and was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2012, and in 2013 he won the Willie Marshall Award, the Les Cunningham Award, the President's Award, was named to the First All-Star Team, and played in the All-Star Game. In the NHL he was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2014, the All-Star Game in 2015, and of course, won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
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Johnson does represent the US internationally and has won even more here! He participated in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships and helped the US to win gold at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships. The only other event he has participated in is the 2014 IIHF World Championships. Johnson seems like a really great guy and asking any of his teammates will back up that statement. A story I love about him is how he picked his jersey number. His parents both play hockey and actually met playing beer league hockey in Spokane. He states that his mother was the better hockey player and worked as a skating coach, so he took her number.
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