NHL Moniker Mishaps: The History Of Misspelled Names On Jerseys

Vitek Vanecek has played in just four regular-season games with the San Jose Sharks, so, understandably, he would still be adjusting to his new digs.

As we found out Sunday night, the Sharks may have been slightly unfamiliar with the Czech goalie as well, as they misspelled his nameplate for his start against the Colorado Avalanche.

Vanecek is far from the first victim of a nameplate misspelling in NHL history. While he hopefully will be the last, he very well might not be. Here’s a roundup of some of the most memorable name misspellings on NHL jerseys in recent years.

Nicklas Grossmann

Arguably the most perplexing of all NHL jersey misspellings, Grossmann spent the better part of a decade known as “Nicklas Grossman” for the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers.

In 2012, eight years after being drafted, Grossmann revealed his name had been misspelled all along after a Flyers employee noticed the difference between his jersey and his passport.

“I guess when I was young coming up, I didn’t want to say anything,” he said at the time. “That’s the way they put it on the shirt, and I just was going with it.”

Arturs Silovs

When making your NHL goalie debut, the last thing you need on top of all the pressure is for your name to be misspelled with all your family and friends watching.

That’s exactly what happened to Silovs in 2023 when his name was spelled “Silvos.” Unfortunately, the young netminder also got torched by the New York Rangers for five goals on 27 shots in a 6-4 loss.

Still, it certainly makes for a memorable first-game souvenir. Silovs played quite well after that and led Latvia to a World Championship bronze medal for the first time in the country’s history.

Wayne Gretzky

As the most talented, decorated and recognizable face to ever play the game, you’d think The Great One would be immune to a jersey misspelling.

However, after 19 seasons in the NHL, the Rangers messed up his name in the 1997-98 season.

The spelling was fumbled again when Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur gifted Gretzky a jersey with the spelling “Gretsky.”

Rob Niedermayer

After a long and fruitful 16 seasons in the NHL, Niedermayer wasn’t spared by the Buffalo Sabres when they allowed him to sport a spelling error on his sweater for at least three games in 2010-11.

Kyle Okposo

Not to pile on the Sabres here, but in a 2017 game against the New Jersey Devils, Okposo quickly learned he required a new jersey on the bench.

As it turns out, signing a seven-year, $42-million contract for an NHL team doesn’t guarantee a correctly spelled nameplate, even in the second season of that deal.

Antti Niemi

There’s certainly a trend of players with new teams being on the receiving end of a spelling error.

In November of Niemi’s first season with Dallas in 2015, he skated out for warmups with a pretty obvious error for anybody familiar with the Finnish goaltender.

Niemi reportedly did not know his name was misspelled at the time, but kudos to the equipment managers for ensuring he wore the correct sweater for puck drop. He only had to endure the awkwardness for warmups, long enough for fans to snap some photos, of course.

Alex Chiasson

Another instance of a veteran NHLer having his name misspelled, Chiasson suited up for a 2021 game with “Chaisson” on his back. To give more context, the 10-year NHL veteran and Stanley Cup champion had just signed a one-year deal three days prior, so it wasn’t as if the equipment managers had all summer to learn the name.

There is K’Lavon Chaisson, who was playing for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, so the name isn’t without precedent. Chiasson’s name is also pronounced like Chaisson, but there are no excuses in The Show.

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