This is going to be one of the best uniform matchups we see all season.
If you tune into Thursday night’s game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche, don’t try to adjust your TV. You really are going to be seeing a matchup that hasn’t happened in 30 years.
That’s right, we’re getting the Quebec Nordiques vs. the Hartford Whalers… at least as far as the jerseys are concerned.
There had been a ton of rumors that the Avs would be bringing back a Nordiques jersey in some capacity. They have in the past, but that was a recolored version that was part of Adidas’ Reverse Retro program.
On Tuesday, the team unveiled that it will use a true Nordiques sweater for a handful of games this season, starting on Thursday night.
The Nordiques moved to Colorado back in 1995 and won the Stanley Cup the next season.
But with the Avs playing the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, wouldn’t it be cool if the Canes dusted off their Hartford Whalers sweaters and we got a good old-fashioned Adams Division matchup?
Well, that’s what we’re getting!
The two teams will do this again on January 3 in Raleigh, and then the Canes will wear their Whalers jerseys for one game against the Utah Mammoth.
Maybe the Mammoth will get Arizona Coyotes-style Kachina jerseys or confuse the hell out of a lot of people with some throwback Jets sweaters.
I love this, but I know it kills a lot of Whalers and Nordiques fans to see it. I get that, but this is some serious hockey history. The Whalers and Nordiques were two of the four teams (the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers were the others) that started in the World Hockey Association before making the jump to the NHL in 1979.
There are also plenty of storylines to be on the lookout for. Brent Burns plays his first game against the Hurricanes since joining the Avs over the summer.
Both teams are also currently leading their respective divisions.
Read the full article here
