Coyotes to fully relax NHL player dress code

While NBA and NFL players routinely go viral and generate headlines with what they wear entering arenas and stadiums ahead of games, an NHL mandate says its athletes "are required to wear jackets, ties and dress pants to all Club games and while traveling to and from such games unless otherwise specified by the Head Coach or General Manager." 

That could soon be a thing of the past. 

Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports the Arizona Coyotes are thus far the only NHL team to fully relax its player game-day dress code for the 2021-22 season. Additionally, Kaplan wrote the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators intend to allow players to wear track suits to games, while other clubs aren't enforcing the rule about ties. 

Players were allowed to dress as they wished while in the playoff "bubbles" created in Toronto and Edmonton in 2020, but the policy reverted to what's mentioned in the collective bargaining agreement for last season.

Kaplan also reports it could take up to "five years" for all NHL teams to fully relax their dress codes, and one unnamed player told ESPN he isn't holding his breath waiting for his employer to do so. 

"Our general manager is so old-school, though. I just don't see it happening," that player said. "It's ridiculous. Whatever I wear to the rink is not going to affect the way I play. In fact, if I'm not wearing a stuff suit and tie for an hour on a bus and I'm wearing something I'm more comfortable in, maybe I'll play better.

"I understand the tradition aspect. I understand that we are representing the organization and the last thing an NHL team wants is to be embarrassed. But this feels like a great example of why the NHL is stuck behind the NBA and NFL in some ways, because our league says it wants to grow, but it's afraid to. We need to move forward."

That player is spot on. The NHL has new media rights deals with ESPN and Turner Sports, and both the league and its new partners could use all the positive press clippings they can get. Perhaps instead of a "Let the Kids Play" campaign, the National Hockey League Players' Association should embrace a "Let the Kids Be Comfortable" mantra.