The Canucks Wore the Black Skate Jersey Twice in Two Nights. Please Don't Make It Their Real Jersey

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Black Skate

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Images: Fanatics

The Vancouver Canucks wore their Black Skate alternate jersey on back-to-back nights this weekend at Rogers Arena. Saturday, October 3, they beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 in it. Sunday, October 4, they wore it again and lost 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights.

That is two of the Canucks' first three home games of 2026-27 in the third jersey, and the club has not even published its Black Skate schedule for the season yet. So we have to ask the question Canucks fans have been asking for years: is the Skate becoming the real Vancouver jersey, with the blue orca hanging in the closet as the backup? We hope not. The Skate is a nice throwback, but the blue and green are Vancouver's colors, and they should stay that way.

Here is the Black Skate in action on the first night, from the Canucks themselves:

What the Canucks Wore in the First Week of 2026-27

The home opener on October 1 against Edmonton was the standard blue orca sweater. Then the black came out for Calgary and stayed out for Vegas. Every sweater in that log is confirmed from game photos, and the full record lives on our Canucks uniform calendar and the daily NHL uniform tracker.

The Skate now gets a break whether the club likes it or not. Vancouver leaves on a six-game road trip starting October 8 at Carolina and does not play at home again until October 20, when the Hurricanes visit Rogers Arena.

Is Back-to-Back Black Skate New?

Not really, and that is part of the point. Last season the Canucks wore the Black Skate in their home opener on October 9, 2025, also against Calgary, and the schedule they announced on October 21, 2025 had it on back-to-back nights October 25 and 26 against Montreal and Edmonton.

What has changed is how often it goes on. These are the numbers the club and local outlets have published:

Sources: Vancouver Canucks, NHL.com, Daily Hive. 2026-27 from our own game log.

That is a third jersey climbing toward half the home schedule. Most NHL clubs wear their alternate a handful of times a year. Vancouver is wearing its Skate about as often as it wears the blue at home, and if this season's schedule lands around 20 dates again, the split is basically even. That is exactly the trend we would like to see slow down.

Here is how the club announced last season's dates:

Where the Skate Jersey Comes From

The Canucks wore blue and green from 1970. In 1978 the club swung to black, red and gold and the famous Flying V sweater. In 1985 the Flying V gave way to the Flying Skate crest, the skate blade with the CANUCKS wordmark slashing across it, and that look stayed until 1997, when the orca arrived under the Orca Bay ownership group.

The Skate era is the one fans remember most because of 1994: Pavel Bure, Trevor Linden, Kirk McLean and the run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Rangers. Gino Odjick wore it for seven seasons, and when the club debuted the modern version in January 2023, days after Odjick passed away, the Canucks said it carried even more meaning because of him.

The way back happened in steps. In August 2018 the club let fans vote on a throwback for the 50th anniversary season, and 70 percent picked the Flying Skate over the Flying V and the original orca. It came back for select games in 2019-20, returned for a game against Calgary in February 2022, and became a full-time third jersey in January 2023 with a modernised design: sharper striping and bolder contrast on the same black base with red and gold.

What Canucks Fans Think of the Black Skate

Fans did not just like it, they asked for more of it. The 70 percent vote in 2018 is the clearest number, and when the sweater came back in 2022 local coverage noted supporters were petitioning for it to become a permanent third jersey or the primary outright. Canucks fan sites have run "should the Skate be full time?" columns for years.

The club has answered the way clubs answer: by wearing it more every season and selling a lot of them. The one thing it has not done is make it the primary, and the 2026-27 home sweater just got an RBC sponsor patch on the blue orca, which tells you which one the team still treats as the official look.

Our Take: Should the Black Skate Be the Real Canucks Jersey?

On the ice, it is close to a co-primary already. Half the home games in black and half in blue is not how a third jersey normally works, and back-to-back Skate nights to open the home schedule will only push the "make it permanent" conversation louder. That is big news. We just do not want it to go any further.

The Skate is a nice throwback. The black base, the red and gold striping and the Flying Skate crest carry real history, from Bure and Linden in 1994 to Gino Odjick. Pulling it out now and then for a big night at Rogers Arena is exactly how a throwback should be used.

But the blue and green are Vancouver's colors. The orca is a clean, well balanced sweater that looks like the Pacific Northwest and like nobody else in the league, and it is the look the club still treats as official. Black, red and gold were a detour from the colors the club started with in 1970 and went back to with today's blue and green orca look. Wear the Skate too often and it stops feeling special, and the Canucks start looking like a different team.

There is also the road problem. The Skate is a dark sweater and the NHL's home team wears dark, so a true switch would need a white Skate road jersey too. We would rather the club put that energy into the blue orca and keep the Skate as a treat, not a habit.

See where every club's sweaters land in our NHL jerseys ranked list. Every Canucks sweater and the date it goes on is on the Canucks uniform schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Canucks wear the black Skate jersey two nights in a row?

The club has not given a reason. Vancouver wore the Black Skate alternate against Calgary on October 3 and Vegas on October 4, 2026. It did the same thing last season, with Skate games on back-to-back nights October 25 and 26, 2025.

How often do the Canucks wear the Black Skate jersey?

About half of their home games. The 2025-26 schedule had 20 Black Skate games out of 41 at Rogers Arena, and the 2024-25 schedule had 18. Through the first week of 2026-27 they have worn it in 2 of 3 home games.

When is the Canucks 2026-27 Black Skate jersey schedule released?

As of October 5, 2026 we could not find a published 2026-27 schedule. Last season the club announced its 20 dates on October 21, so expect it in the second half of October. We will add every date to the Canucks uniform schedule when it lands.

What years did the Canucks wear the Skate uniform originally?

The Flying Skate crest was the Canucks logo from 1985 to 1997, including the 1994 Stanley Cup Final run. It replaced the Flying V sweater of 1978 to 1985 and was replaced by the orca in 1997.

Is the Black Skate the Canucks primary jersey?

No. The primary home sweater is still the blue orca, which carries the new RBC patch for 2026-27. The Black Skate is the official third jersey, even though Vancouver wears it nearly as often as the blue at home.

Should the Black Skate become the Canucks permanent jersey?

We hope not. It is a nice throwback to wear now and then, but the blue and green orca is Vancouver's identity, and wearing the Skate every other night takes away what makes it special. Our grade for the Skate as an everyday jersey is a C.

What is the next Canucks home game?

October 20, 2026 against the Carolina Hurricanes, after a six-game road trip. That is the next chance to see the Black Skate jersey.

The Bottom Line on the Canucks Black Skate Jersey

The Canucks opened 2026-27 with the Black Skate on back-to-back nights, beating Calgary 4-1 and losing 3-2 to Vegas, and the sweater is now worn at roughly half of Vancouver's home games. It is still officially the third jersey and the blue orca is still the primary, but on the ice the gap is almost gone. We like the Skate as a throwback for special nights, but as an everyday jersey it gets a C. Keep the blue orca as the primary, and keep the Skate rare enough to stay special.