ST. PAUL, Minn. — One of the big “gets” for NHL players in the recent collective bargaining agreement was a relaxed dress code. Players will no longer have to wear suits and ties when they arrive at the arena for games. Instead, they only need to “dress in a manner consistent with contemporary fashion norms.”
Teams and players will be given guidelines as to exactly what that means in the coming days, which Minnesota Wild president and hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin is delighted about because he’s far from delighted with the change.
Guerin, an original New Jersey Devil, comes from the Lou Lamoriello school of professionalism and thinks players in other sports show up to games “looking like they’re going to the movies.” Guerin once famously got on Calen Addison for not wearing a tie on the way to the bus in Boston, so imagine how he’d feel if he saw one of his players wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt or sneakers to a game.
Get those fits off 😮💨@budlight | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/a0X6aN5d9V
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) September 20, 2025
Guerin is worried this could become a “runaway train.”
“You’re going to work,” Guerin said. “We’re supposed to be pros. It’s one of the things that made this league special. So I’m a little worried about it, but from what I’m told, there will be guidelines. So that’s encouraging because I’ve seen some of the style choices our players make, and not many of them have great style.”
He said that with tongue firmly in his cheek — intentionally loud enough for a number of players to hear. But Guerin isn’t kidding. It wasn’t a coincidence that with Guerin as U.S. GM, assistant coach John Tortorella wore a suit and tie at the 4 Nations Face-Off — after dressing more casually behind the Philadelphia Flyers’ bench during his last NHL coaching stop.
Nevertheless, clubs are not allowed to impose any team-mandated dress codes for players, so we had some fun the past week with Wild players, determining which ones might still opt for formal style and which ones might take casual to the extreme.
“There’s different tiers,” forward Vinnie Hinostroza said. “There’s the streetwear crew, and there’s the guys that would be more proper.”
As in our recent Wild player polls, veteran Marcus Johansson is still the hands-down winner for the player teammates expect to be the best-dressed.
“Marcus always looks sharp,” winger Yakov Trenin said.
“Marcus knows style,” captain Jared Spurgeon said. “It’s the Sweden in him.”
“Marcus Johansson has great style,” defenseman Jake Middleton agreed. “Not flashy, but he’s always well put together.”
“JoJo likes to flaunt his stuff,” veteran Marcus Foligno added. “He’s a stylish guy.”
“JoJo has cool watches,” defenseman Brock Faber said. “I think that kind of makes the outfit.”
Johansson was humbled by the big victory. He said his wife does most of his shopping for him, but added, “I like whatever I think looks good and is comfortable. No particular brand. I don’t care what kind of stuff it is as long as it fits and I think it looks good. Then I wear it.”
Johansson thinks it’s cool that the NHL Players’ Association was able to get this in the new CBA.
“I’m sure there’s times we’ll still wear suits,” Johansson said. “I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if I showed up in a suit to games anyway. I’ve done it for 15 years. But I think it’s fun, though, that it’s changing. I think maybe it’s good for hockey to grow the brand and see guys’ more personal styles and all that, and maybe they’ll get some attention to the game as well. I think it could be a good thing and fun.”
Johansson wasn’t the only one to get votes.
Jesper Wallstedt went with Spurgeon or Jonas Brodin, while Hinostroza thinks Kaprizov “has some cool outfits. … The Europeans have that nice European style that we’re all copying.”
As for players who will dress down and be more casual, Mats Zuccarello, Filip Gustavsson and Middleton finished neck and neck.
“Zuccy, he will end up in sweatpants or something one day — shorts,” Wallstedt said. “He might come to a game in a hoodie. He might have a good time with it.”
“Zuccy will take casual too far, of course,” Ryan Hartman added. “He’s a pro. But he’ll try to find the line pretty soon this season, I’m sure.”
“Zuccy, I think, he waited for that rule for a long time so he can try it,” Trenin said, laughing.
Hinostroza joked that he could see Faber arriving at games in a “team-issued jumpsuit.”
“If I was allowed, I would be wearing flip-flops and sweatpants,” Faber agreed.
As for Gustavsson, Middleton said, “I don’t know what he really brings to the table as far as style.”
Added Spurgeon, “I feel Gus really doesn’t care that much about what he wears. He’s not going out to buy fancy (clothes).”
Foligno said he assumes Middleton “will just wear a lot of black T-shirts, black jeans and white shoes.”
“Sweatpants and black tee shirt for sure,” Hartman added.
But Middleton said he actually plans to still wear his suits.
“I didn’t invest all that money in them to not wear them,” he cracked.
Hinostroza, who’s been friends with Hartman since they were kids, said Hartman, too, will wear suits.
“He loves his suits,” Hinostroza said. “I’d be with Hartzy and just keep it simple. The State & Liberty suits now, they’re like sweatpants. Almost prefer to wear that.”
Added Wallstedt, “Definitely going to go suit the first couple games or business casual. And then we’ll see. But I think the tie is gone for now. I don’t think I’ll be wearing a tie ever again.”
wheels up 🛫 pic.twitter.com/ZEm6cT5VTC
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) September 21, 2025
Asked who may tick off Guerin the most, Zach Bogosian quipped, “It could be me if I’m wearing camouflage. No, I think everybody’s going to be pretty respectful. Maybe Lululemon joggers will be as aggressive as guys will get.”
Spurgeon and Foligno think that how casual the attire is will depend largely on whether the team is home or on the road. If they’re on long road trips, like the five-gamer the Wild have Oct. 14 to 22 or the seven-gamer they have when the Twin Cities hosts the World Juniors, it’s assumed players won’t pack a bunch of suits.
“There will be some sort of guidelines, so it won’t be a free-for-all,” Spurgeon said. “And with Billy the GM, I assume we’ll still keep it tight.”
Added Foligno, “On back-to-backs on the road, it’ll be nice not to think too much and be comfortable. But as my mom always told me, “If you look good, you play good.”
— Joe Smith contributed to this story.
(Photos courtesy of the Wild)