Like it or not, ads will be on the LA Kings jerseys

The NHL Board of Governors has approved advertisements on game jerseys starting in the 2022-23 season. This is for all teams, including the LA Kings.

The inevitable will be arriving soon. After years of resistance, the NHL has decided to allow advertising patches on game jerseys beginning in the 2022-23 season. There will be one patch allowed per team, including the LA Kings.

The patches will be three inches by three and a half inches, slightly larger than a hockey puck. Teams will reportedly have a choice of three spots on the jersey to places the advertising patches. It will be up to the individual teams to procure their sponsors.

Stay tuned for a change on your #NHL jersey https://t.co/u78TqHEqfv

— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) August 17, 2021

For traditionalists, this is indeed terrible news. The NHL was the last of the major North American sports leagues to refrain from advertising on their jerseys (or tank tops in the NBA). The good news for the traditionalists on this front is that there will only be one advertisement per jersey (for now), as opposed to European jerseys, which tend to have so many advertisements that it’s difficult to see just who is sponsoring the club.

.@Turcotte__71 https://t.co/BvKUtW4yEI pic.twitter.com/R0MacWg7C7

— Ryan Sikes (@ryan_sikes10) August 18, 2021

Even still, it’s a bitter pill for some to swallow. For those who disliked advertising on the boards, ice, and then this past season, the helmets, this could be the ultimate blasphemy. In all reality, however, this was bound to happen. NHL practice jerseys, AHL game jerseys, and ECHL game jerseys have all had advertisements on their jerseys for some time now, so the obvious next step was for the NHL to put ads on their game jerseys. With the lost revenue due to the pandemic, the National Hockey League found itself in a perfect position to greenlight ads that normally would have met much more resistance.

Whether anyone likes it or not, this will be the last season without ads on game jerseys. On the bright side, more revenue coming in help will certainly help the league and its teams. On the other hand, if the ads wind up being overdone, we eventually may not be able to tell the difference between the LA Kings uniforms or an advertising mural. Time will tell…

8352 votes on the poll I ran for the past 24 hours…58% of voters did not want advertising on NHL sweaters.

— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) August 18, 2021

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