Outrage over NHL sweater ads will be short-lived

Including the Montreal Canadiens, so far only eight teams have announced sweater advertising partnerships, which probably means it's not the cash cow the league thought it would be

Rocket Richard might be spinning in his grave over the Montreal Canadiens advertising the Royal Bank of Canada on their sweaters.

When Nick Suzuki takes to the ice for the Montreal Canadiens this coming season, he’ll do so wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on his left shoulder and an advertising patch for the Royal Bank of Canada on his right. And if you think it was a coincidence that both those developments were announced on the same day, you might want to refrain from taking any calls from telemarketers for a while.

There’s absolutely no doubt that the Canadiens’ intention was to blunt the backlash around the unveiling of the Royal Bank patch with the good-news item that the promising Suzuki was named the youngest captain in franchise history. The idea there was undoubtedly to reduce the spinning of departed Canadiens’ icons – a list that is far too extensive to include here – in their graves. Apparently it’s one thing for the Washington Capitals or Vegas Golden Knights to sully their uniforms with advertising, but when the vaunted Canadiens do the same thing, it amounts to a desecration of sacred fabric. After all, the book is called The Hockey Sweater, not The Hockey Sweater With the Schwartz’s Deli Ad Patch On It.