…New sweaters celebrate the past and the present in Canucks history

Vancouver, BC – Today the Vancouver Canucks unveiled their new home and away sweaters for the 2007-08 season in front of thousands of fans at General Motors Place. At a mid-day media conference Canucks fans saw five of their favourite players, Markus Naslund, Trevor Linden, Mattias Ohlund, Willie Mitchell and Kevin Bieksa skate onto the General Motors Place ice in their full home blue and road white uniforms for the first time. The combination of the original blue, green and white colouring, along with the Orca Whale celebrates the past and present in Canucks history.

“Our goal when we set out was to celebrate our heritage and to design a sweater that reflects our extraordinary city and province,” said Chris Zimmerman, Canucks President and CEO. “We wanted to unveil a sweater that reflects our past and our present.”

The new Canucks home uniform is primarily blue with classic horizontal green and white stripes, reflective of the Canucks first NHL season of 1970 and symbolic of BC’s natural landscape. The original stick and rink mark has evolved, yet maintains its simplicity and connection to the game of hockey, while providing more definition to the Canuck 'C’. It is featured on each of the shoulders of both the home and away sweaters. The front of the sweater is adorned with the familiar Orca Whale, a true reflection of the west coast of British Columbia.

The symbols that make up the new sweater encompass the long history of our fans love of hockey, Canuck teams, the original colours, the first logo and the city’s name. It displays a traditional Canadian design, and one of our most beloved neighbours, Orca Whales, representing where the team began and what the Canucks have become.

The Canucks new look is part of the League wide initiative that will see all 30 teams wearing the Rbk EDGE Uniform System beginning this season. The new sweaters are being unveiled after more than two years of research and testing with active participation by NHL players, the NHL Players' Association and NHL team executives. The launch marks the first time in the history of major North American professional sports leagues that a league-wide uniform innovation has been established.