Stars GM Jim Nill said it’s a policy that makes sense with the 2020-21 schedule, which he said is still similar to the bubble in Edmonton, if not more strict when it comes to the road. The Dallas Stars, who spent more time in the Edmonton bubble than any other team, adopted a “bubble casual” policy for the last two months of the season after experimenting with a more relaxed dress code on a road trip to Chicago. Players liked the more casual fit, and team executives began to realize a player not wearing a tie to a game wasn’t going to impact how hard he worked on the penalty kill later that night.Īnd so there’s been a slight step back in the strict suit policy in 2020-21.
It was more of a logistical thing asking players to pack that many suits for an unknown length of time seemed unnecessary, and while ditching suits still typically led to another form of conformity - polos became common pregame attire - it at least planted a seed that a strict dress code requiring a tie wasn’t needed. The NHL relaxed the dress code when it restarted the 2019-20 season in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson (here advancing the puck ahead of Kirill Kaprizov) hope to see fellow NHL players expand their wardrobes.
