It’s hard for me to look at the NHL and believe that they care about the game. Some people who work for the NHL probably have good intentions when it comes to improving the game and keeping some traditions, but we know of one road that was paved with good intentions. I say that with all the cynicism I can muster, because it appears the NHL is allowing Fanatics to dress its players in a new league-wide jersey promotion that has all the hallmarks of a cash grab. As Jason Lee said sarcastically Mall rats as he entered the mall, “I love the smell of business in the morning!”According to one post on Reddit that seems to carry some weight according to Glenn Cook at SportsLogos.netwrote a Reddit user with a throwaway account called “PollutionSoggy9411” that the Redditor works “for a hockey retailer in the US”, and that their inventory for this retailer revealed that there may be a “new league-wide alternate program” next season. If this feels like the Reverse Retro campaign, read on.
“PollutionSoggy9411” warned readers to take the posted information “with a grain of salt as none of this has been confirmed,” but it appears the NHL and Fanatics will be calling this new league-wide jersey promotion “Hometown Remix.” Some compare it to the NBA’s City jerseys or the MLB’s City Connect jerseys, and the colors suggested for some teams in “PollutionSoggy9411’s” post are downright ridiculous, if not insane. What’s the point of this?
Nothing has been confirmed yet, so I won’t add any additional commentary here, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. We know the NHL would sell its soul for another zero, so adding another set of unnecessary, visually offensive jerseys to their merchandise options seems just right for the NHL. I’m waiting for the official announcement on the new jersey campaign for 2026-2027, but I can already tell you that this is nothing more than a desperate cash grab by a league that only cares about its bottom line.
Rogers Communications is worth just over $27.5 billionbut it doesn’t stop them from begging for your discarded clothes. You’d think a company that can afford to buy virtually every Toronto professional sports team and post their name on multiple arenas across Canada would do something more charitable than ask Canadians for donations, but Rogers has no plans to give anything back.According to their most recent marketing releaseRogers launches “The great Canadian Jersey campaign” which is “the latest installment in the Rogers This is our game campaign.” This new initiative from Rogers “invites Canadians to donate old hockey jerseys for a new project” where “Cameron Lizotte, a former OHL player turned fashion designer” will sew together pieces of the collected jerseys “to create one-of-a-kind hockey jerseys that represent all facets of the sport and this country’s deep history with the game.”
Immediately thoughts of the jersey foul on the right side come to mind because there is no way Rogers should do something like that. If they really insist on desecrating and destroying jerseys, the least they can do is donate some money to each hockey program represented by the jerseys they receive. Rogers is worth $27 billion – they can afford to donate a thousand dollars to minor hockey teams to help them continue to write more chapters in “this country’s deep history with the game.”You could say, “Maybe they can give something to everyone who donates,” and it seems like they’re giving everyone false hope as a reward. According to the release, “All Canadians who donate a jersey will be entered to win the Ultimate VIP Hockey Road Trip to see a Canadian NHL team on the road during the 2025-2026 regular season,” which is great, but only one person will win. Everyone else gets nothing but a hearty “thank you” before being sent on their way.
That’s what your hockey memories are worth to Rogers.
Anyone who wants to take part in this madness can donate a jersey at any Rogers store until January 15. According to the release: “[t]The final patchwork jerseys will be unveiled later this month and will be featured as part of a national advertising campaign ‘that will only help Rogers make more money. I wouldn’t have a problem with them making donations to the hockey programs used in their ‘patchwork jerseys’, but that doesn’t happen at any point.
It’s one thing to have to pay insane telecommunications fees for terrible service, but asking people to donate their hockey history so Rogers can benefit from that history is disgusting. But that’s just a footnote on the balance sheet of a $27 billion company, right?
I may not have an eye for fashion like Cameron Lizotte, the NHL or Rogers Communications, but I do know that it’s bad taste when big companies sell cheap merchandise and beg for your hockey memories. You don’t have to be a fashion icon to know that.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
#Billionaire #beggars