Fanatics Gets Severely Criticized For Making Their First Spelling Mistake of the NHL Season

In 2023, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made a controversial decision to name Fanatics as the League's official jersey supplier after Adidas stepped down after 10 years of manufacturing jerseys, leaving Fanatics the entire workload.

Fanatics already had a controversial reputation for their high prices, less than ideal quality, and making spelling mistakes on jerseys. While fans hoped that the brand would get better and avoid these errors in the first year of its deal with the NHL, it happened last night in a game.

After a great start to the season, Fanatics is getting a lot of negative feedback from NHL experts, media, and fans alike as Vitek Vanecek stepped onto the ice with a mistake on his back.

On X, reporter Max Miller posted a picture of the San Jose Sharks goaltender's jersey and pointed out that there's a mistake in the name. Instead of "Vanecek", it was written "Vanacek".

See the picture here:

Vanecek, 28, has played 167 games in the NHL so far, so there's no reason for someone to make that mistake. If he had been a rookie or a player who's yet to build a reputation in the NHL, fans could've understood. However, for a veteran, it's disrespectful and unprofessional.

The Sharks goalie ended up allowing three goals on 21 shots against the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-1 loss. This season, he has a 0-3-0 record, a .884SV%, and a 3.14 GAA.

Still looking to earn their first win of the season, the Sharks must be thinking about calling up their promising young goalie Yaroslav Askarov from the AHL. Acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators over the summer, the goalie has tallied two shutouts in two games with his new team, and there's no doubt that he could help the Sharks win if he can manage to bring the same level of performance to the NHL.

If he ends up being called up, he'd need to call Fanatics and make sure they know how to spell his name: A-S-K-A-R-O-V.

One thing's certain, fans will be on the lookout for Fanatics' future mistakes, and let's hope it's the last time, but as history has shown: It won't.