New Edmonton Oilers alternate jersey could have 'Flint Tropics' vibe: report
The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly going in an unexpected direction with their upcoming alternate jersey next season.
Though the Oilers just debuted a new third jersey last season, the team will add a fourth sweater into the rotation for the 2026-27 season as part of a league-wide initiative. Every NHL team will be adding a new design as part of a “Hometown Remix” project by Fanatics, which is expected to include design elements inspired by each city in the league.
Not much is known about where the Oilers will be going with their design. It was leaked earlier in the year that the new jersey would have black as its main colour, which would be a first for the franchise.
Resident Oilers jersey insider, Tom Gazzola, gave more insight into the uniform design on Wednesday’s edition of OilersNation Everyday, where he revealed that the jersey could take inspiration from a Will Ferrell movie of all places.
“I was told there was a Flint Tropics motif to it,” Gazzola said. “Take that with a grain of salt… I was also told this is going to be the counter to the current [vintage white] alternate.
“People were saying it would draw inspiration from the neon orange and blue jersey that they wore with no white in it. Not the case. When I brought that up, I was told to think more Flint Tropics, and I think you’re going to see ‘Oil Country’ somewhere on the crest in writing.”
For those unfamiliar with the Flint Tropics, that was the fictional team from the 2008 movie Semi-Pro, where Ferrell played a basketball player/singer named Jackie Moon.
The jerseys that the Tropics wore were very retro-inspired, with a teal, orange, and blue colour scheme and a logo that incorporated a palm tree along a 1970s-style font. With the exception of the teal, it’s actually not that much different from Edmonton’s current branding, and there could definitely be a through-line to connect the two.
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If the Oilers are opting to have a black base colour on the jersey to contrast with bright orange and blue accents, this has the potential to be a very striking jersey. The addition of an “Oil Country” script would be a first for the team as well.
More information on the NHL’s “Hometown Remix” initiative is expected to come later this offseason, and there is no date set for when the Oilers and the rest of the league will unveil the new designs.
Until then, this is all that Oilers fans have to go off of.