Why are Vancouver Canucks Lunar New Year jerseys $750?

The Vancouver Canucks’ new limited-edition Lunar New Year jersey is being well-received for its design, aimed at celebrating the Year of the Rabbit. But at $750 a piece – about triple the price of a typical jersey – some are balking at the price.  

The design was created by award-winning artist Trevor Lai. It’s full of symbolism relating to the holiday, with the most prominent feature centered around a golden rabbit.  

“When I looked at the rabbit, I thought…‘What are the attributes of a rabbit, and especially in terms of the Zodiac, that I can draw from?’ So the first thing of course is speed, agility, but also playfulness,” Lai said.  

“I love the game of hockey and there’s something that I think is universal about the joy of hockey that can be really well represented by the rabbit.”  

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit.

Our Lunar New Year jersey unites the Year of the Rabbit with the iconic Skate logo, embodying speed, power, and good fortune.

Part of sales will be donated to @ChinatownFdn and @Elimin8_hate.

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 22, 2023

The jerseys also include a detailed shoulder patch featuring a traditional lantern often associated with the Lunar New Year.  

Lai says inside of the lantern there is a sun depicted – something he says is also an important attribute of the province’s flag.

“All of our communities, the Asian community, the non-Asian community, everyone in British Columbia is under the same sun and this message of unity is an important part of why I do these designs,” Lai explained.  

Lai says he spent several months on the design of the jersey, and fans aren’t missing the details that he carefully placed.  

“Really nice touch with the Rabbit replacing the skate,” one reddit user commented.  

“As a person born in the Year of the Rabbit, I love this jersey,” a Twitter user said.  

“Amazing artwork for sure. I love how they really captured the essence of softness,” another added.  

Others say the celebratory jersey is “awesome,” with the design even garnering the attention of non-Canucks fans.

Handmade, high costs  

While many are in awe of the celebratory design, others are still surprised by the cost.

In comparison with the limited-edition version, the second-highest priced jersey currently for sale online at Vanbase is the team’s Pro Alternate jersey sporting the non-traditional colours of black, red, and yellow, coming in at $298 — about $450 less than the Lunar New Year design.

At an even lower price point, to buy a version of the Canucks classic blue and green jersey, the regularly priced women’s jerseys start at $150, and the men’s start at $200.

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But Lai says there’s a reason these jerseys are different than the others. He explains components of the specialty versions are done by hand, thus bumping up the cost.  

“Unlike regular jerseys, the jerseys for the specialty nights are actually hand done,” Lai said. “You can imagine with the amount of stitching and the amount of detail…in the design, how labour intensive that is.”

A representative of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, says in an email that the jerseys are “authentic on the ice pro jerseys, [and] very labour intensive to make.”

He adds that all of the decorations are hand-sewn in Vancouver, and there is only a limited amount available for purchase.

Although some of the merchandise proceeds are set to be donated to two Vancouver organizations, Elimin8hate and the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation (VCF), the Canucks declined to specify what percentage of profits from the sales will go to the organizations.

“Percentages vary for a variety of reasons and factors and we do not disclose that information,” the representative explained. 

The team adds that there will also be a $20,000 donation to the VCF through the Canucks for Kids Fund.

Lai says as a collector himself, he loves buying team merchandise. He notes there are cheaper options for people to still wear the design.

“One of the big angles and big reasons for these nights is the community organizations that benefit from them. So I was comfortable I think contributing to those auctions, really more so from the standpoint of like, ‘I know…the money is going to good causes,'” Lai explained.

Fans react to price tag

The team is set to sport the celebratory jerseys during warm-up on Tuesday, before they face the Chicago Blackhawks during the Lunar New Year game.

But it’s unclear how many fans will be wearing the jerseys along with the players.

“Does anyone actually buy these warm-up jerseys for $750 or…?? (sic) That’s 1/3 month’s rent for your fan base,” another said.

“It’s a $750 jersey, of course people are going to complain about the price. It is outrageous,” one user said. “These are pretty amazing. If only they weren’t exclusive or $600.”

Although a common factor in the comments is a positive reaction to the design, some fans say they are still passing on making the purchase.

“Echoing the sentiments of many in here; the logo is pretty clever, honestly and I like it a lot upon first look. But for >$560 [USD] (sic) that’s a hard no for me personally,” one added.

“Great logo, but hard pass on $750 for the jersey,” another said.

Diwali jersey was also pricey

This isn’t the first time the team has charged top prices for specialty jerseys, as the 2022 Authentic Diwali Jersey also rang-in at $750.

Similar comments came in at the time, with social media users admiring the design but also voicing their surprise.

Although Lai says some fans may not be able to get a jersey, he says the message behind the design is still getting out in other ways.

“I know when I was a kid it wasn’t easy to get [the things] I wanted to at that time, like the coolest, best jersey ever, and then my parents were like, ‘well, here’s the puck,'” he said.

“I think for me, there’s like still the fact that all the meaning I put into the logo and the design, it still exists in these products.”

In addition to jerseys, the special logo is also featured on t-shirts, toques and hats at $35 per item on the Vanbase website. There are also hoodies for $115.

Smaller ticket items for sale also include a hockey puck, pin, and keychain.

“I don’t think it’s a deterrent at all because you have a small number, limited number of very premium, beautifully crafted collectibles, and then you have a huge amount of items that still display my design that are accessible to every fan,” Lai said.

“The jersey is just one important, but small, component I think of the overall message.”

As the team will likely continue to roll out the specialty jerseys on theme nights, Lai says it’s possible that someday there will be more options for fans.  

“The fact that there’s a whole range [of products], I really do feel like is a good solution for fans today. Now, would I love there to be all different types of jerseys that anyone can buy, including myself at all different price points? Of course. Of course I would,” Lai said.

“I think that, until there’s a day where they can find a way to do like tons and tons of the jerseys, I think the handcrafted-ness of the process is something that is kind of just one of our constraints.”