On Monday, the Washington Capitals unveiled their new third jersey. After the 2010s was spent paying tribute to the franchise’s original wordmark logo, the 2020s are all about the screaming eagle logo the club used from 1995 to 2007.
While the base of the new third jersey is similar to the old road red jersey from 1974 to 1995, the logos of the eagle and the Capitol Dome shoulder patch from 1995 to 2007 are used in modified colors. The design probably would have been more appropriate as the club’s special 50th anniversary sweater, but the NHL’s changeover from adidas to Fanatics limited new designs being introduced so the black Reverse Retro from 2022-23 was used instead.
For those of you keeping count, this is now the club’s third design with the screaming eagle introduced since 2020 as part of adidas’ first Reverse Retro program.
Capitals adopt a new screaming eagle variation
A red-white-and-blue version of the team’s screaming eagle design was used during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. When Adidas brought back the campaign two years later, a black-and-bronze version of the jersey was used, and that jersey was brought back last season as the 50th anniversary jersey.
The new, primarily red, jersey has a white shoulder, similar to the base of the old red design, with the primary logo being the screaming eagle with the black base of the original eagle logo shifted to blue, but keeping the copper trim of the original on the beak and talons. The Capitol dome logo, placed on the shoulders, has also shifted to the current red-white-and-blue color pallette, with the exception of the city name, which maintains the original copper coloring.
The shift from the original base jersey only comes from an added blue trim around the white shoulder color, and the sleeves mirror the blue-white-and-red of the hem, with blue at the end of the sleeve.
Alernate jersey to make 15 appearances in 2025-26
The new jersey will be worn 15 times this season at home, beginning on October 17 against Minnesota.
With the introduction of the new third jersey, which will be kept in the rotation for three years, there also is the question when the team might undergo a more complete rebrand with the base models of their uniform.
Introduced in 2007, the current set is approaching the length of time the original set was in use by the club – 21 seasons. The screaming eagle, which was introduced in 1995 when the team announced they were moving to Chinatown and used until Alex Ovechkin’s sophomore season in 2006-07, lasted a dozen years in use before changing over to the current model.
Compared with the rest of the league, nearly all non-Original teams have changed their uniforms and/or logos since 2007-08, with Columbus and Vancouver still using similar designs to that season outside the uniform mainstays of Chicago, Detroit, Montreal and the Rangers. The current “Rock the Red” design proved popular, but it also is seemingly becoming dated and it is also likely that once Ovechkin retires, the league will look to boost sales with a new design – one of the reasons the team originally shifted to the screaming eagle in 1995.
Capitals have sported plenty of alt jerseys
Since Ovechkin came into the league, the team has introduced plenty of alternate designs. They’ve had both white and red versions of their original jersey. Additionally, they featured three other outdoor game jerseys in 2015, 2018 and 2023. Likewise, the Caps rolled out the now-retired “W” blue third jersey and the two Reverse Retros before this model.
However, the base models have remained largely untouched in that time period. However, there’s been manufacturer changes from Reebok to Adidas in 2017. This resulted in some minor changes in detail.
Certainly the current model represents the most success the franchise has had, as the club won the Stanley Cup in the white model in 2018, and has only missed the playoffs twice when using the model (2014 and 2023). While the club seemed to be eyeing a change in the late 2010s, following the team’s Cup win, the current model seemed to win a reprieve from a shift to another model.
The new model represents the fourth official third jersey of the Ovechkin era. Meanwhile, the others were the throwback white and red and the blue W. Perhaps by the end of its three years, the Capitals will have themselves a new look. However, it’s unlikely the team’s iconic star in Ovechkin will be playing when the three years of this model are up.
