Vancouver Canucks introduce new shiny metallic blue helmets

The Vancouver Canucks finally debuted their long-rumoured new metallic blue helmets in their practice at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Although there is not currently a defined timeline as to when the helmets will see their first usage in an actual game, they certainly garnered praise (and, in some cases, ire) from fans when the first pictures of them were shared on social media.

As CanucksArmy‘s Jeff Paterson reported on Tuesday morning, the official nomenclature about the helmets is that they’re “metallic,” not “chrome.” In any case, they’re definitely blue.

The Canucks used Tuesday’s practice to break in the new helmets, as is customary when teams receive new equipment en masse. Paterson reiterated on Twitter that there is currently no plan for the Canucks to wear the new buckets in Wednesday’s home game against the St. Louis Blues.

For his part, Canucks forward J.T. Miller didn’t seem too enthused about the helmets.

“They’re shiny,” Miller remarked flatly to Paterson. “We wear what we’re told to wear.”

The Canucks are hardly the first NHL team to introduce a helmet design with a metallic finish. The Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings have been doing it for years in gold and silver finishes, respectively.

In both those cases, the shiny helmets are typically worn as an alternate, “special event” look. That’ll likely also be the case with the Canucks, who typically wear basic blue and white helmets to go with their home and road jerseys.

The Canucks first teased the metallic blue helmets all the way back at the beginning of December 2023, sharing a cryptic animation to their official social media channels. (CanucksArmy‘s own David Quadrelli wrote an in-depth breakdown of that little easter egg back on December 9).

Here’s hoping the new helmets don’t interfere with the Canucks’ current success. They’re a league-best 32-11-4 with a +59 goal differential on the season and are slated to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for only the second time since 2015.