The 2025 Stanley Cup Final got underway on Wednesday evening, as the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of their rematch of last year’s championship.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final needed overtime to reach its conclusion, as the Oilers pulled off the win over the Panthers courtesy of a gorgeous Connor McDavid assist to Leon Draisaitl.

While the game needed an additional period to determine a winner, it didn't take nearly as long for fans to notice and voice their displeasure about one significant change to the Stanley Cup uniforms.

The uniforms were modified this year, with the NHL relocating the Stanley Cup patch from its usual place on the front right of the sweater to the front left. That meant that the Cup patch was sitting directly next to the "A" or "C" that alternative captains and team captains wear on their sweaters.

Fans did not enjoy the aesthetic change made by the league, which used the newly-freed up space on the sweater to accommodate the teams’ respective jersey ad patches. Fans felt the NHL did a disservice to the usually breathtaking uniforms by valuing their ad revenue over the aesthetic of the sweaters, and they sounded off on social media.

More on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans Were Fuming After NHL Moved Stanley Cup Patch to Make Room for Jersey Ad.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate