Coyotes Bring Back the Kachina as New Third Uniform

Like some sort of mythical bird whose name I just cannot recall, the Phoenix Coyotes original “Kachina” uniforms have returned.

Banking on a wave of 90’s nostalgia, the Arizona Coyotes introduced their “new” throwback third uniforms tonight at their NHL Draft party. The uniform was worn originally for the Coyotes first seven seasons following their relocation from Winnipeg in 1996 before it was replaced in the fall of 2003 as the current logo made it’s début.

The new Arizona Coyotes alternate uniform unveiled tonight

“We’re thrilled to make our black Kachina jersey the official third jersey of the Arizona Coyotes,” said Coyotes’ Owner, Chairman and Governor Andrew Barroway in the press release. “These are iconic jerseys that are beloved by our fans and players. We’re excited to have our players wear these great jerseys 14 times this season and hope that our fans will enjoy wearing these classic jerseys for many years to come.”

In recent seasons the Coyotes had brought this uniform back for a handful of games to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the team’s first season in Arizona.

Arizona will debut the uniform for their home opener against the Anaheim Ducks on October 6th and will be worn for Saturday home games following that as well as on “Black Friday”, see the full schedule at the end of this post.

We wanted to create the most beautiful jersey in the world.
Then we realized, the most beautiful jersey in the world was already created.
Introducing our official @adidashockey third jerseys: https://t.co/Ku9RHXLBSH
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) June 22, 2018

The uniform is a fairly faithful reproduction of the original Coyotes uniform, even nailing the unique striping pattern around the waist, sleeves, and at the collar. Both logos are back, the coyote on the chest as well as the moonmark on the shoulder, albeit updated to no longer read “Phoenix” instead leaving it blank above COYOTES”, due to the name change the team underwent in 2014.

The original set was designed by Greg Fisher, a Phoenix-based designer who also counts the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and Arizona Rattlers Arena Football League club as other sports teams he has designed for.

The Coyotes originally wore this uniform from 1996-2003

“As we were moving into this, the league gave their opinion on a colour palette they thought might work for a new NHL team and they were adamant about the logo,” Fisher told FoxSports.com in 2015. “There were so many angry animals coming on board around that time that they were like ‘do not do an angry animal logo because we’ll never say yes.'”

Frankly I hated the original Coyotes logo and uniform when it was first introduced, but I’ve come around to it in the 22 years since. At the time I saw it as just another weird design amongst a sea of other non-traditional looks taking over the sports design world. Place it in today’s NHL and it really stands out on its own, allowing us to fully appreciate how great it truly was. I don’t think I’d be opposed to the club adopting it full-time again someday.

The Coyotes uniform unveiling follows the Carolina Hurricanes who also unveiled their new third uniform tonight.