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“We have not gone green,” Young says. “But we did incorporate a lot more green than we have in the past.

“We used to have a rule, for many years, that green and blue never touched. There was always white separating them. We’ve kind of gone away from that now.”

“We had a number of discussions and iterations of jerseys in varying colours and looks. It’s always a challenge on making the final decision, but in the end, we landed on blue being the dominant colour as we felt it was the colour that is closest to our team identity,” Trent Carroll, the chief operating officer of the Canucks, adds.

Instead, the touches of white are kept to key highlights: the logo, the player numbers, the collar and the 50th anniversary patch (which will adorn all the jerseys worn throughout the season). The back numbers on each jersey also feature a nod to Vancouver’s notoriously wet climate.

“The perforation is supposed to signify the rain,” Young says of the micro-dot cutouts visible on the back number. Longtime Canucks fans will easily spot the similarities to the original 1970-71 jersey design.

“This is actually the same striping of the 1970 jersey,” Young says. “And the same general logo as our original jersey … it’s just the updated version. So, it’s kind of like a modernized take on that 1970 version.”

The same-same-but-different approach is said to be in keeping with the franchise’s approach to the milestone season.

”The heritage jersey really helps to bridge our past and our future. There are the core elements, like the colours and stick in rink, that are important to preserve,” Carroll says. “But as we evolve as a team and organization we understand the importance of modernizing incrementally.”

The Canucks players will wear the heritage design for 10 games next season, and Young says it will also be put into play beyond the 50th season, as well.

Canucks fan-favourite “Black Skate” jersey, the main crest of which first debuted on the sleeve of the most controversial jersey reveal, perhaps, in NHL history, for the 1978-79 seasons before moving to the chest of the uniforms in 1985, is back by fan vote and will be worn by the players for three games in the 2019-20 season. The heritage design will be available beginning June 21 while the home/away designs and the retro “Black Skate” jersey won’t hit stores until the start of the season.

Aharris@postmedia.com