In 2022, the Vancouver Canucks reintroduced that fan-favorite “Flying Skate” uniform as a third uniform. The original Flying Skate sweaters were worn from 1985 through 1997, and brought back as a “special event uniform” in 2019-20, when the team was celebrating its 50th anniversary.
While some NHL teams have dropped their third jersey/uniform for the 2024-25 NHL season, others are bringing them back. The Canucks are among those teams.
The uniforms are very popular with fans (and lets face it, much better than their current uniforms). In response to the positive feedback from players and fans alike, the Canucks have announced that they will wear the Black Skate jersey 18 times during the 2024-25 season. They will sport the uniforms for the first time this Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and will wear them during their entire upcoming three-game homestand.
Here are the dates in which the Flying Skate alternates will be worn:
- October 26, 7:00 p.m. vs Pittsburgh Penguins
- October 28, 7:00 p.m. vs Carolina Hurricanes
- October 30, 7:30 p.m. vs New Jersey Devils
- November 9, 7:00 p.m. vs Edmonton Oilers
- December 6, 7:00 p.m. vs Columbus Blue Jackets
- December 8, 1:00 p.m. vs Tampa Bay Lightning
- December 10, 7:00 p.m. vs St. Louis Blues
- December 21, 7:00 p.m. vs Ottawa Senators
- December 23, 6:00 p.m. vs San Jose Sharks
- December 28, 1:00 p.m. vs Seattle Kraken
- January 18, 7:00 p.m. vs Edmonton Oilers
- January 21, 7:00 p.m. vs Buffalo Sabres
- January 25, 7:00 p.m. vs Washington Capitals
- March 5, 7:30 p.m. vs Anaheim Ducks
- March 7, 7:00 p.m. vs Minnesota Wild
- March 9, 6:00 p.m. vs Dallas Stars
- April 5, 1:00 p.m. vs Anaheim Ducks
- April 6, 7:00 p.m. vs Vegas Golden Knights
It’s also somewhat fitting the team will don the black (and gold/red) uniforms for the next few games, as it’s “Spooky Season” so the unis also give off a bit of a Halloween vibe.
Back in black! ⚫️🔴🟡
Our Black Skate jersey schedule is out, starting this Saturday when the #Canucks return home to host Pittsburgh in their first skate jersey game of the season.
GET TICKETS | https://t.co/b5kgtuKcLd
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 23, 2024
Of all the Canucks uniforms (and they’ve had a number of distinctly different looks over their 50+ years), these are my second favorite. I actually prefer the “Flying V” uniforms that preceeded the Flying Skate, simply because they were so different from most other NHL uniforms at the time. I still vividly remember my Islanders beating the Canucks for their Flying V’s to win their third straight Stanley Cup. But after the V’s, these are my second favorite Canucks’ uniform, so I’m glad they’ll be worn 18 games this season.
What do you guys think of the “Flying Skate” throwbacks/alternates? Where would you rank them all-time in Canucks uni history?
Wow that’s just about half of their home games
Really like these uniforms. I like that they’re actually a mash-up, with the stripes paying homage to the original 1970-72 uniforms. Shame they’re spoiled by that bright lime green Toronto-Dominion ad patch.
Always liked these, and was sorry to see them go away. Glad that the Skate is back.
Of course, this Flying Skate alternate is the new version they introduced in 2022-23, and not the actual throwback they wore in the previous seasons. Updated striping and number font. Small detail changes to the Skate logo.
18 games is a lot for an alternate. I like seeing it as an alternate but I really like the Canucks in the primary blue and green colour scheme.
Yeah the new Flying skate is mashup of 85-89 jersey and the 90-97 jersey but it looks good. I still like the green and blue ones.
As a Rangers fan of 60+ years, seeing these always makes me smile.
Meh…lemme know when the vastly superior V’s make a comeback – in either the original black/yellow/orange or in their current blue/green.
I wonder why they’ve never tried to. My guess is it doesn’t work with the modern jersey templates. Or someone in the front office hates them, who knows
Flying V made a warmup appearance during 50th anniversary season. It can be done with current jerseys if they ever wanted to do it for a game.
link
Red, black, and yellow is a criminally underused color scheme. That being said, these are my second favorite Vancouver uniforms, between the Flying V’s and the Pavel Bure suits.
Glad they’re back, interestingly, I think that in a total vaccum devoid of history or what everyone else in the league is wearing, their current visual identity is better, but the flying skate unis are just so unique to anything else in the league, black-red-yellow is firmly THEIRS. (but they should go more unique and return to the flying V’s)
I too like their current set better. What I find surprising is when you said that black-red-yellow is ‘theirs’. The Flames use black-red-yellow as their Blasty alternate. Both Boston and Pittsburgh are black-yellow. Vegas is very close at their grey-black-gold-red. If anything is a colour scheme that is truly ‘theirs’ it would seem to me that it is blue-green. And, if for no other reason, is why I think the Canucks should stick with their current scheme rather than mixing it up yet again.
To each their own, but I’ve never understood the affinity for these uniforms. I find them really ugly, and that logo is awful.
I thought Fanatics was poo-pooing third jerseys this year, guess that didn’t take?