Sabres Debut Third With Win
Wednesday · Nov 26 · 2008 | 10:05 PM PST
The Buffalo Sabres debuted their new third jersey tonight against the Bruins, more than two months after initially unveiling it. The retro-themed sweaters brought the Sabres a much-needed victory.
I got a few emails tonight talking about the alternate uniforms with some info worth sharing. Bill wrote in to point out that the classic logo seen on the front of the jersey is also featured on the helmets. However, on the right side of the helmet, the buffalo is actually facing the right.
;)
You can see this here on Jason Pominville's helmet. Pominville and Derek Roy had a lot to celebrate tonight. Bill says this is the first time in franchise history that the logo has been modified this way. I'm not that familiar with the use of this logo so I can't say whether that's true, but I have no reason to doubt it.
He also pointed out that the pants for this uniform are actually shells. Notice the way the regular pants stick out in this picture of Drew Stafford.
;)
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, I'll explain briefly. Rather than having multiple sets of pants, players tend to have just one. That's why you always see the Sabres in blue pants whether they're wearing blue jerseys or white. (Also white pants look silly, as the Giants pointed out over the weekend.)
When third jerseys are introduced that require a different pant design, teams will use shells as a cost-cutting measure. The shell usually fits over the pants, giving the illusion that they are different. Sometimes during game action, shell will slide out of place as seen in this photo and others.
By the way, the Sabres weren't the only team wearing their third jersey tonight. Four other teams joined them, including the Sharks, Stars, Hurricanes and Lightning. Just to keep you updated, alternates are 17-17 on the season so far.
Reader Comments (37)
Didn't notice the white Pit stain before. Looks awful.
I was at this game and was absolutely ecstatic when they came out in these. This is just wonderful, and I hope they are switched to full time. Also, they should just wear those pants with the slugs, to have something good going for those jerseys.
Does anyone know what other teams use shells on the pants?
I'm sure there are a few other teams using shells over their regular pants for their thirds. The only one I can find a good picture of at the moment is the Pens. Check out this Jordan Staal picture. You can clearly see the black and gold pants sticking out from underneath the blue outer shell. http://www.icethetics.info/picture/gyi0056199364111600_1024×768.jpg?pictureId=1615742
classic looks beautiful
I would think the changing of the logo direction for the helmet is pretty much common sense... it should never be facing away, just like the American flag on military fatigues
I suppose it makes sense, I just pointed it out because they've never done it that way before. When they used the logo on the shoulders of the old jerseys (even on the Winter Classic jerseys last year and the '06 alternates) it was always with the left-facing buffalo on both shoulders. On occasion when they put it on the helmets it was always with the left-facing buffalo on both sides. The right-facing buffalo just looks so wrong to me.
Hopefully Sabres fans will get what they deserve next season and this will be their primary. Beautiful.
hah..
i just saw a picture of the tampa bay goalie sprawled out getting scored on, and I realized that not only are the stripes underneath the armpits visible when a player scores but also when a player gets schooled...
Put it in perspective...If this "updated throwback" was the initial offering by the Sabres in 2006, I don't think anyone would have been complaining...no 30,000 petition signatures, no fixthelogo.com, no SabresNotSlugs.com, and no public humiliation of a franchise's brand identity running for over two years now!
RBK, Reebok, Rheebock, Rhiebox, Ratballs...Just stick to doing what you're told when it comes to designing a logo and a jersey. The secret is out, you guys royally screwed over some NHL teams and their fans with your Edge Uniform System disaster. Lucky for you and the rest of the NHL, most of the third jerseys are looking pretty good and it will actually wind up being profitable cleaning up the mess you made.
i'm not sure what I think of the silver outline on the logo now. Originally, I thought it was going to give a nice sense of texturing to the image, but in this image it makes everything look blurry..
Thoughts, anyone?
I disagree. I think the silver outline does exactly what you said it should. It adds texture and depth to the design. Looking at mine in person, it really shows through. Such a simple addition, but one that works wonders.
LOVE these uniforms. And by all accounts, the slug will be gone within a year or two. Maybe then we'll get the whole story on why we got stuck with it in the first place, direct from the horses' mouths at HSBC Arena. But considering how it's been all smoke and mirrors from them to this point, I won't count on it.
Still, good on them for delivering what the fans have wanted all along. These jerseys are simply killer.
Awesome alternates for Buffalo. I agree with Drew Celestino, the silver outline completes this jersey very, very well. These are MUCH better than the slug, but then again, what isn't? (well maybe a few sweaters but I won't go into detail) The sooner Buffalo ditches the slug, the better and it definately looks like they will, in a few years.
It looks better than their regular jersey but I still think their throwback 70s-80s is much better.
That is not white under the arms, but grey.
I didn't know about the armpit colouring. Add that to the WHY? file along with the piping. They look great from a distance before you see those details, at least.
But they still look great, white armpits or not. It seems like you're over-examining the big picture. It's a great jersey, and this is coming from a Flyers fan.
I would love to see what this jersey would look like in white w/ blue piping
Shells are mainly used for minor league hockey players, my team has an all black shell with my number and team name on them that just slides over my pants because we're not going to go out and buy new pants with our numbers, logo, etc. It's just too much, but I don't understand why they use shells in the NHL..and for the helmet logo, I think they just made the buffalo on the logo go forward like the player..such as when the player's skating forwards the buffalo is facing the same exact way, just a theory, but I'm pretty sure that's why the did it
the sabres looked great in those jerseys...and chris, i just gotta say you are amazing with the information...me and my brother spent most of the game trying to figure out the whole thing about the pants...and as you have done many many times, you answered my question...so thank you...o yea...HAPPY TURKEY DAY TO EVERYONE
The Flyers also reverse their logo on the left side of the helmet. It looks a little weird since it is suppose to be a stylized P.
As for the pants, the shells are less expensive so it does save a few buck. From the players perspective, they usually hate breaking in new gear so they probably appreciate wearing a shell as opposed to breaking in new pants.
While the Sables jerseys are nice, I think they would be nicer without the chest/arm piping and the contrasting underarms. It doesn't work with the horizontal striping. I must admit that I'm not a fan of that style on the Flames' jerseys either.
Im getting my self a Rivet jersey at this Friday's game. I think they look much better during a game then I thought they did on the shelf.
I was unsure about the front-only piping at first, but after seeing it in action, and seeing it up close on my own jersey, it works. It frames the wearer's frame as well as the front of the jersey nicely. A subtle accent.
And I have no problem with the colored underarms. These jerseys are pure win.
I can't tell, is this photo a hint of a shell?
I can almost see a little dark blue on the bottom, but I can't tell for sure.
http://i37.tinypic.com/hsjo5y.jpg
Shells are the individual PLAYERS choice. not the team, shell or pants, up to the player.
It's funny that this shell conversation comes up because just yesterday, I noticed it for the first time on the Pens' new thirds. I was about to say something, but there was really nowhere right to bring it up.
That's neat how they do that though.
MK, your photo does show some shell.
Great Jersey's. Although I think the logo could have done with a little bit of re-vamping. It looks sharp here, but some of the concepts I've seen for the Sabres are fantastic!
about this whole shell thing...
in the case of teams wearing third jerseys that are different colors than their regulars, the player has the choice to either get new pants or put a shell over existing pants so that they wouldn't have to break in new pants. however it appears to me that stafford is wearing another pair of pants that just have the padding taken out to make a shell, which is why it doesn't fit quite right and the other pants are showing. kind of difficult to explain but its all reebok's fault because they designed these pants as a part of the edge uniform
I would prefer these without the piping and pitstain panels, but by default, this is a thousand times better than the slug jersey.
Is the blue here a slightly lighter shade of blue than the slug jerseys (those seem almost black to me)? Maybe it's the lighting...
These are what the Sabres were meant to wear.
P.S. Chris when are you going to update the ICEHL? Im anxious!
Yeah, the ICEHL is getting a little dusty... i want to see the winners! Chris, could you post the winners soon?
These are, of course, exactly what the Sabres should have been wearing since 2006. Yeah, the piping and underarm patched aren't perfect, but it's still 90% in the right direction. If they go back to these full time, then there will be tweaks over time and those little details can be improved upon. Right now, I'm more focused on the big picture of dropping the slug for the original logo.
As for the pants, I don't care if they want to use shells or not, but they need something more. They are just plain navy; nothing else. They need some striping or other detail. Look back at the Sabres' uniforms from pre-1996 and they had striping up the sides of the pants. They need something like that.
Finally, I really like the navy and do feel it is a little more modern looking. However, I must admit that on TV, these do almost look black. I wouldn't be opposed to going a shade or two lighter. Not royal; just a little more blue than black.
Wow. Terrible ranking.
I like it, but I still think that Edminton, the Isles, and (gasp!) the Thrashers' thirds are better. By the way, why haven't the Blueshirts brought back their Lady Liberty threads?
Great logo. I'd love to see these stay "as is" but drop the number on the front, and perhaps a thin stripe on the pants. Then, bring back the Winter Classic Jersey of 1/1/2008 EXACTLY for the white version. No need for a third jersey then...just like Detroit we'd have 2 perfect jerseys..no need for a third
As much as I like this jersey, it would be even better without the silver. Take out all of the silver in the jersey, and you've got yourself a keeper. But what they got is good enough.