There’s a growing offseason conversation around what the Los Angeles Kings might wear on select nights in the 2026-27 season, and one idea keeps rising to the top: a return to the franchise’s classic purple and gold look.
The options being floated have covered a wide range, from revisiting the purple and gold color scheme to leaning harder into the black and silver that have defined the Kings’ uniforms for much of the past few decades. But The Athletic recently put its own spin on the debate by naming one jersey each NHL team should bring back, and for Los Angeles, the pick was simple - the Kings’ iconic purple, or Forum blue, and gold uniforms from 1980-1988.
“6. 1979-1988 Purple and Gold jerseys. The Kings made these better when they added the different colored sleeves pic.twitter.com/hoGHNbPdVt
- LA Kings Realist (@LAKings874) April 29, 2026”
That call makes plenty of sense when you look at how well the Kings’ throwback looks have landed in recent years. The reverse retros in the early 2020s were a hit, and the Forum blue sweaters from the 1980s still stand out as one of the most recognizable designs in team history.
The appeal goes beyond nostalgia. That purple and gold palette is unusual in the NHL, but it also fits naturally with Los Angeles, where the Lakers’ purple and gold has long been part of the city’s sports identity. It also reaches back to the Kings’ Forum days, before Wayne Gretzky became tied to one of the most important eras in franchise history.
The success of the heritage and reverse retro jerseys gives the Kings a clear blueprint if they want to build another alternative uniform around that old Forum blue and gold base. Fan reaction was strong, especially to the reverse retros from the 2020-21 season, and there’s reason to believe the appetite would still be there for another swing at that classic look.
None of that changes the place of black and silver in Kings history. Those colors remain the defining look of the club’s championship era and aren’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean the team can’t make room for another piece of its past.
Whether it comes as a throwback or some other alternate design, bringing back the Forum blue and gold would be an easy move and, from a merchandising standpoint, a smart one too.
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