Old habits die hard, and for a lot of Avalanche players, that’s been the case with the new dress code in the NHL.

But not all of them.

Although the new collective bargaining agreement for the NHL doesn’t technically take effect until September 2026, the league has implemented some of the agreed-upon changes a little early. One of those changes was the removal of the old dress code, which required players to wear a suit and tie.

That is no more, and at least a few Avalanche players are taking advantage of it.

“Probably Marty (Necas), ” Victor Olofsson said. “I like to see Marty’s outfits. I enjoy it. (Val Nichushkin) has some good style.”

“I would say Val and Marty,” Ross Colton said.

“Marty, he’s wearing jeans and ripped shirts and stuff, but it looks cool,” Parker Kelly said. “My stuff wouldn’t look cool.”

There was one mention of Brent Burns from the handful of players polled, but for the most part, the two players actually taking advantage of the new dress code are Necas and Nichushkin. The latter isn’t a man of many words and is recovering from injury, but social media accounts for the team show him often arriving to games in a T-shirt, casual pants and a jacket with some jewelry.

It’s a bit of the same for Necas, who is enjoying the newfound freedom he has to show up to games wearing whatever he wants.

“I think you can show your personality and you can still wear the suit sometimes when you feel like it,” Necas said. “Feels nice, especially on the road. You can wear something comfortable for a travel day or morning skates. I like it.”

Necas and Nichushkin are about the only guys who have immediately gone to the casual look.

For most, if not all, Avalanche players, they’ve been wearing suits to games since they were 13 or 14. It’s long been a standard for teams at the bantam or midget level to come to games dressed up, so it can be hard to break the habit.

Even if they’re being encouraged to.

“I have not (been taking advantage of it),” Scott Wedgewood said. “My wife’s been trying to get me to wear something different. She’s picking out outfits, I put it on, and I just … I started with Lou Lamoriello and it was very strict, everyone’s the same. I have adopted the comfy sneaker look instead of the dress shoe. That’s about as far as I’ve gone, but it’s hard to feel like you’re going to a hockey game when you’re wearing it.”

“I’ve seen some guys come in pretty casual, which to me is an adjustment,” Josh Manson said. “I would like to (dress casual), I just don’t know if I’m there mentally.”

Other teams are certainly taking advantage of it, and most of those teams are full of younger players. If you look at the social media sites for teams like the San Jose Sharks, you’ll see their young stars like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith arriving in more casual outfits.

The Avalanche, a veteran team and one of the older groups, are the opposite. A quick peek at the team arrival photos from last week doesn’t look all that different from previous seasons. While a lot of players have ditched the ties, most of them still rock the suit.

“You’ve sunk so much money into (suits) that it’s like I’m either going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe or just stick with what I have,” Colton said.

“I got all these suits, might as well wear them,” Olofsson said.

“I got like, 10-12 suits, it’s kind of a shame if I never wear them again,” Kelly said. “Part of it is I like throwing on a suit. Maybe it’s something mental, it gets me into the game a little bit.”

For one player in particular, the change in dress code was perfect timing.

“All of my suits from the last three years have rips in them,” Mackenzie Blackwood told The Denver Gazette. “When I saw there was no dress code, I just didn’t buy any more.”

The NHL website is typically pretty generous when it comes to listing players’ height and weight, adding an inch or two to a player who might not actually be his listed height. For Blackwood, it might be the opposite.

When you stand next to Blackwood, it would appear the NHL is selling him short by listing him at just 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. And when you’re that big, it’s not exactly easy to find a suit that fits.

So when word came out that the dress code was changing and he didn’t have to wear a suit anymore, it was good news for him.

“First (time) you’re walking in casual feels strange,” Blackwood said. “Not wearing suits is also nice, because I’m, I don’t know how you want to say it, a little bit bigger, so suit pants and coats, you have to get them custom ordered. It’s just nice not having to wear them because they always rip and you throw them in a ball.”

So, while most of the Avalanche aren’t taking advantage of it, the NHL dropping the dress code is a way for players to show off some of their personality, something we don’t often see.

Even the players who are still rocking suits understand that.

“If anything, hopefully it’s good for the game,” Manson said. “Social media is a big part of the game nowadays, so if you can grow the game in any regard, whether it be fashion or whatever guys want to do, it’s not hurting, it’s only benefiting it.”

And maybe someday everyone will start to adjust.

“I mean, I love wearing sweatpants,” Kelly joked. “I have all sweatpants, all hoodies. I wear comfy clothes, I like stuff that’s soft. What’s the optics looking like if I’m wearing sweatpants?”

With no dress code, maybe we’ll find out.