Is the Pittsburgh Penguins jersey announcement a sign of things to come to the NHL?
When COVID struck, the NHL announced that its teams would have new sponsored advertisements on their helmets to help fund back money that was lost due to the pandemic and missed time.
As hockey and the world have somewhat returned back to normal, some teams still have the sponsors on their helmets, while others don't.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were the first team to report that they would have new advertisements on their jerseys soon. The Pittsburgh Penguins followed suit as they announced Tuesday morning they have a new official sponsor for home jerseys to start in the 2022-23 NHL season.
The NHL's jersey advertising program permits up to two jersey sponsors per team, where separate sponsors appear on home and away jerseys, beginning with the 2022-23 season.
It's a much-debated topic amongst hockey fans as they think it will take away more of the integrity of the game and make it seem more like a business. NBA has been a huge advocate for jersey advertisements for the past few years now, and it seems the NHL will soon follow.
When it comes down to it, the NHL is a business and teams need to make money, as long as it doesn't go as far as jerseys we see in professional leagues overseas.
