{"id":397527,"date":"2026-01-08T13:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/397527\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:08:10","slug":"for-nhl-players-a-relaxed-dress-code-means-freedom-in-fashion-choices-including-suits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/397527\/","title":{"rendered":"For NHL players, a relaxed dress code means freedom in fashion choices \u2014 including suits"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA \u2014 It was early September when the NHL expedited changes to the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement, including the relaxation of the dress code for players. League mandates on wearing suits and ties? They\u2019re out. Individual style choices \u2014 from T-shirts and jeans, to Canadian tuxedos, motorcycle jackets and tank tops<\/a> \u2014 are in.<\/p>\n

Players such as Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev were excited about showing off some new threads instead of wearing a suit everywhere they went.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re uncomfortable,\u201d Sergachev told The Athletic. \u201cWhen you wake up on the road, you put your suit on. For morning skates, you have to take it off there, put it on again, go back to the hotel, eat, go, take it off again, and then put it on before the game. And then you come to the rink, and you take it off, put it on. It\u2019s like 12 times you do that during the day. It just gets old.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as attire started to shift around the league,\u00a0there were signs that teams such as the Ottawa Senators would trend conservatively.<\/p>\n

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk \u2014 still tanned after returning from summer break \u2014 addressed the media to discuss the season ahead and eventually offered his two cents on changing NHL fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think we\u2019re one of the top four leagues in the world,\u201d Tkachuk said in September. \u201cI think we make a lot of money. I think we should be able to represent ourselves well. So, hopefully the dress code isn\u2019t abused. I think it\u2019s just important to be professional and represent yourself well as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

His teammates eventually followed suit.<\/p>\n

The Senators\u2019 older players, after some discussion among the team\u2019s leadership group, self-imposed a business casual dress code ahead of the 2025-26 season. Before practices or plane rides before a big road trip, the team will wear track suits and training gear. Before games, players such as Linus Ullmark<\/a> can still rock their expensive suits or something that fits under the category of business casual.<\/p>\n

Two goalies walk into a rink\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/DqhECZnLPr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The Senators\u2019 desire to wear suits is somehow both counterculture and routine, particularly in a time when their sporting brethren in the NFL and NBA have worn extravagant and original outfits before games for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a job,\u201d Ullmark said earlier this season before stepping away from the team on personal leave<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a business. And it\u2019s nice for certain teams and certain players that there\u2019s not a dress code \u2026 Our job right now is to play hockey, and with that comes expectations about looking the part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I put on a pair of slacks, oversized jeans or a hoodie and I go to the game, that\u2019s just a normal day. That\u2019s a practice. I\u2019m having a day off. Soon as that suit comes on, game time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the NHL leaving it up to the players and teams to choose what to wear, some players don\u2019t want to stray from routine. Many NHL players have worn suits, or have seen players wear them before games, for as long as they can remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, you watch \u2018Hockey Night in Canada,\u2019 they always show the guys coming in a suit,\u201d Senators forward Drake Batherson said. \u201cWhen you think of the NHL, I think of guys coming dressed sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Older players, such as Senators forward David Perron, point to other sports, such as soccer, whose players dress the same for games.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to look like a team,\u201d Perron said in September. \u201cWhere it\u2019s a tracksuit for travel or maybe morning skate. It\u2019s nice when you look like the soccer teams walking into the stadium, whether they have suits or they have their (track suits). I think it just looks awesome. And I think that\u2019s the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

And some players, such as Nick Jensen, would much rather not let those suits sit at home unworn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all bought suits,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to let them hang in the closet and retire them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Senators aren\u2019t the only NHL team to conform to business casual attire. The Pittsburgh Penguins are also among the teams that still like to wear suits and adopt a business casual look.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a respect thing for the game,\u201d Penguins forward Kevin Hayes said. \u201cWe have elite players on our team that have been in the league for a long time and they\u2019re wearing suits. I think it\u2019s just more of a situation where you follow your leaders. I just think it looks proper when your home team is rocking the same thing and looking nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Rangers have attempted to emulate the Senators\u2019 internal business-casual-like dress code. But they\u2019ve noticed some standards changing, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting looser every day,\u201d said Rangers captain J.T. Miller, who will typically wear a $700 Hugo Boss peacoat with Lululemon pants and tennis shoes before games. \u201cGuys are wearing sweatshirts. Some are wearing T-shirts under a jacket. So, honestly, I don\u2019t know what the code is anymore. But I don\u2019t really care. I think as long as we all look sharp, I don\u2019t really care what we (wear).\u201d<\/p>\n

And even on teams where players are given free rein, some still choose to dress up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gone casual a couple of times in games,\u201d Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson said. \u201cObviously there\u2019s some nights that we do like a special T-shirt or something like that, I\u2019ll leave (it) separate because I know that\u2019s a bit different. But when I go casual on my own, I feel like a fan. I feel like a member of the general public. I don\u2019t want that to be my mentality coming into the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got some nice suits that I\u2019m like, pissed if I don\u2019t wear them. I\u2019ve spent a pretty penny on a lot of them and I want to get use out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, other teams have embraced being more liberal with their style. The Toronto Maple Leafs have typically straddled the limits of the NHL\u2019s dress code. The recent rule change has only empowered players such as Auston Matthews and William Nylander to be bolder with their fashion choices.<\/p>\n

Sergachev even hired a stylist during the offseason and used athletes such as Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer and Michael Jordan as style inspirations. He bought a handful of Kangol hats, made famous by Jordan. It paid off as he and teammate Dmitri Simashev were both featured<\/a> in GQ for their pregame outfits earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Sergachev isn\u2019t averse to wearing a suit, nor does he have a problem with those who choose to continue wearing them. It\u2019s more about having the freedom to wear whatever he feels, and sometimes it means juxtaposing formal and comfort wear.<\/p>\n

\u201c(I) can put (on) a suit jacket with a sports coat, together, and tie with the shirt underneath it,\u201d Sergachev said. \u201cAnd (wear) sports shoes like Salomons or Nikes, and baggy pants, and still look kind of cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, rooted in tradition as an Original Six franchise, are also leaving it up to the players to dress as they see fit. And while players like Cole Caufield might have to \u201cspend more money\u201d to keep up with the fashion trends, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019ll happen year-round.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust have enough suits, so (I can) just wear that with a T-shirt, which has been nice, and sneakers. But I don\u2019t think with the winter coming up, there will be any flashy outfits going forward,\u201d Caufield said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest difference is now I\u2019ve got to think (about) what I\u2019ve got to wear a little bit more,\u201d said Canadiens defenceman Alexandre Carrier, who will alternate between quarter-zip sweaters and polo shirts on game day. \u201cUsually, I just put on a suit and you\u2019re ready to go (and you) put the tie on. Now, it\u2019s a bit (like) \u2018I wore that last night,\u2019 but there\u2019s just so many games, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

But for teammates such as Alexandre Texier, being at least semi-formal before games is all they\u2019ve ever known.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been educated like that,\u201d Texier said. \u201c(You\u2019re) going to a game, you\u2019re not going to a restaurant. But some guys like it because they can show their style (and) personality. But for me, I just wear suits, and I don\u2019t mind, to be honest. Maybe, no tie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that the NHL has even entered the style conversation is noteworthy as more players become savvy about marketing the league and sport. And players being highlighted in style rankings and social media posts for their sense of style has become the norm \u2014 even if the NHL is still playing catch-up on the outfits displayed by other leagues in the North American Big Four of sports leagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of those guys are sponsored by brands,\u201d Batherson said. \u201cIf I was sponsored by a brand, I\u2019d wear it, too, into the game. But obviously, those leagues, you can show off (what) you wear a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if players are allowed to show more flair beyond formal and business casual styles, some will stick with what\u2019s worked for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think that there\u2019s no place needed for slacks or joggers,\u201d Ullmark said. \u201cIt\u2019s not professional. I don\u2019t care if it says Balenciaga and they cost you $1,500. Still, pair of slacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

But players still take some liberties around those style rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice that we don\u2019t have to wear ties anymore,\u201d Senators center Shane Pinto said. \u201cJust throw on a white shirt and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Scott Powers contributed to this report.<\/p>\n