FHN Today: NHL, Florida Panthers Set Sail with New Reverse Retro

Hey, in case you had not heard, the Florida Panthers — and the rest of the teams in the NHL — officially released their Reverse Retro jerseys on Thursday.

A good many of the ones we saw released by Ali Murji (@AliMurji1 on Twitter) in the past week were pretty much spot on.

The Panthers jersey, which uses the secondary sun/palm tree/hockey stick logo as the primary with electric blue as the main color, was just about on the money.

ESPN was not the only outlet to give the Panthers high marks for their new design as the Athletic also picked it tops among the new releases.

If you want to see all of the new jerseys (including the Montreal Expos tribute) check out the ESPN story.

Personally, I dig Florida’s new look.

Like the colors, dig the palm tree/hockey stick logo.

The addition of the FLA sunburst on the shoulder may be my least favorite part of the jersey and may be the only true nod to the JetBlue third jersey the team wore from 2009-12 before banishing them to the history books.

The leaping cat on the shoulders probably would have been a better call. Minor, I know.

Fun aside: One reason the team came up with the sunburst/FLA secondary logo in the first place was because players on the team at the time did not like the palm tree/hockey stick thinking it was tacky and a bit kitsch.

By 2011, however, Scottie Upshall, Kris Versteeg and a couple of other players had the equipment managers take a palm tree shoulder patch and sew them onto ballcaps which they started wearing during pre- and postgame interviews.

Presto!

The palm tree/hockey stick logo — which had been around since the team’s original uniforms were unveiled in 1993 — was back in style.

And now it is the star of the show.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

With Aaron Ekblad hurt and three defensemen leaving the team this summer, the Panthers have a lot of guys playing in new roles — and getting a lot more playing time these days.

— When will the Panthers wear those new Reverse Retro threads?

— Will the Panthers end up signing Eric Staal? It’s complicated.

— Hear from the Florida Panthers throughout the season on the FHN YouTube Channel. You can find all the content RIGHT HERE or go to the YouTube app and search for FloridaHockeyNow.

Or just click on the video below and it will take you right to it.

Hear from Paul Maurice, Rudolfs Balcers, Josh Mahura and Carter Verhaeghe following Wednesday’s win over the Flyers.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

The Colorado Avalanche have been very active on the waiver wire and claimed former Panthers forward Dryden Hunt on Thursday.

— The Detroit Red Wings have some early injuries and will rely on their depth to try and fill some holes.

— Speaking of the Reverse Retros, the Avalanche looked back to the old Rockies for its new look.

— The Washington Capitals had a really bad second period and it led to a loss to the Sens.

— Tristan Jarry had himself a night in a big win for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

— If you like old-school Vegas casinos and glow-in-the-dark stuff, you’ll dig the new Golden Knights look.

PANTHERS ON DECK

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• Tickets: CLICK HERE
• Streaming ONLY: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM 2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Last season: Split four regular season games; Tampa won second-round playoff series 4-0
• All-time regular season series: Florida leads 73-49-18, 10 ties