Panthers Unveil 3rd Jersey!
Tuesday · Nov 24 · 2009 | 9:28 AM PST
Last night just prior to their game, the Florida Panthers unveiled their brand new third jerseys. The sweaters are primarily dark blue with gold accents and introduce an entirely new color to the scheme — light blue.
The Cats then debuted the new sweaters in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It shouldn't go without saying that these jerseys do feel awfully reminiscent of the Winter Classic sweater the Pens introduced in 2008 — which later became their third.
;)
Keith Ballard, Nathan Horton and Bryan McCabe in their new threads
It also seems to borrow elements from the Minnesota Wild home and St. Louis Blues third jerseys. So unfortunately it's not a totally original look. Having said that, I like them a lot more than the home and road looks. It's a solid design and when you really get down to it, they look like hockey jerseys should.j
Where the design falls down is that new secondary mark on the helmet, pants and shoulders. Yes, the Sunny FLA. Why? I'm intrigued by the irony that Reebok starts introducing abbreviation-based NHL logos and uniforms just after dumping their own abbreviated (Rbk) logo. (I know, I can't blame Reebok for everything.)
Despite that, I wouldn't be surprised to see that panther head logo soon take over as the team's primary mark. They've already chopped off the legs. Seems like a natural progression. What's disappointing is that along with that will probably see the end of red in South Florida. But it's been a staple since 1993 when the team first joined the league.
;)
In fact, their original road jerseys were red. But suddenly in the last couple of years the red jersey was relegated to third status when the dark blue alternate was promoted. Then in the Age of Reebok, the red jersey went away completely. Fans hoping to see it return with this third were left disappointed as it's not even an accent color. In fact, they just added another shade of blue.
Still, it's always nice to see a team try something different. I have to give the Panthers credit for going out on a limb. But traditional sweaters in a non-traditional hockey market just seem to clash. St. Louis and Minnesota got it right. Nashville and Florida need some work.
I'll finish my analysis with something positive. I do like the custom type used for the lettering on the nameplate as well as the numbers. At first glance, it looks like a standard block font, but look closer.
;)
The Panthers have said the jersey will be worn for 12 home games this season — including last night's — but I have yet to come across the schedule. If I do, I'll be sure to add it to the calendar in the sidebar.
So what do you guys think of the new threads?
Reader Comments (83)
Not bad for the islanders, but for florida??? Where's the red!!! It would had been better if they just took the original red, A la flames
Nashville Pittsburgh Florida and St. Louis all have the same jersey and logo design and the same colours. Really? How about something different.
I think that Ll Phil on uniwatchblog had it right. Here's what they should have done
That would establish an identity. And wouldn't have the commentator on TSN SportsCenter stating and I am paraphrasing here"'The Panthers took on the Penguins (new uniform is shown) and no, that's not pittsburgh, that's the Panthers' new third jersey"
yuck... ugly
if i forget about every other jersey in the NHL, then I have to say it looks great. But considering that its just another round logo in a trend that needs to stop, and basically a complete knock off of Pittsburghs jersey, it's kind of sad. Especially considering if you look at the Pens jersey history, they have worn that colour blue as well. please, be original someone.
Personally, I really like this third jersey of the Panthers. I would have to agree with you that the red woulda been a nice little touch. But I'm loving everything about this jersey though.
im loving how teams are starting to get away from the goofy cartoon logos and take a more professional look, these are close to my favorite third jersey and can not wait for the nhl 10 jersey code so i can use them.
Overall, I like them. It's a cool design. The colors look good but they just dont look like the Florida Panthers that i grew up seeing in the NHL. Would have loved to see these jerseys with original Panther colors.
I wish they replaced the dark blue in the jersey with red and the light blue in the jersey with dark blue and maybe change one of those white stripes to gold and I think they'd have a great jersey. I just don't see the panthers with light blue let alone dark blue, I always thought of them as a red colored team and I think they're taking out the wrong color here. All aside though, it still is a very nice jersey and I like that *FLA logo (maybe not as much as their seconday logo, but this one is still solid).
It reminds me of the various Penguins jerseys from 1974 to 1980. The 79-80 were actually dark blue with white an light blue trim. (see nhluniforms.com) The Penguins could have come out with these next year as a new alt and no one would have made a fuss.
Florida could have use this new template. I agree that it makes a decent traditional hockey sweater pattern wise. But, they should have used red as the main colour, navy as the secondary with white and yellow accents it would have been better.
I'll give the new crest a pass but the FLA patches are just terrible.
I have to say, as a resident of Naples, Florida for 20 years, a Lightning and Everblades fan since I was in Elementary School... this is by far the worst uniform in the state of Florida.
Let me rephrase that, as this technically isn't a "bad" uniform in and of itself... however, its gigantic lack of originality and/or creativity makes me want to puke. Icethetics is right on in its analysis: the shoulders are stolen from the Colorado third jersey and the Edmonton Third/New Home, the colors have been taken from the Predators third jersey, the logo is the same as St. Louis' third jersey and/or the Minnesota Wild's home jersey... its like they created this two weeks before the unveiling and just slapped a bunch of crap together and called it a product.
Where is the red? How about a yellow or gold? Where are the Panther's original colors and identity? Bueller??
This entire third jersey fiasco is just embarrassing, really. Rbk has ruined the NHL in terms of asthetics. Every single home and away jersey fits into one of three or four patterns (i.e. no creativity), the third jerseys are either just a bunch of lame wordmarks, throwbacks, or unoriginal crap... there is no substance anymore. Much like the modern American society I fear.
Great design and primary logo. However, as nice as the colours are, they more 'Pittsburgh' than Florida. I think the jersey should be a red one, and the light blue areas should be navy, with white AND gold stripes. It would still have a 'classic' feel, but keep the Panthers' unique identity.
I'd like them better if they lost the grade school gym shorts.
I also find it funny that people think there is an unlimited colour palette. With 30 teams there has to be some overlap in colours.
It's not bad, but I feel like it needs some red. Too much blue there, not enough red. Maybe something like this?
LL Phil almost matched my vision. I still think it needs some gold/yellow. I would have made the stripe between the two white stripes on elbows, hem and shins a navy colour and the lower the two white stripes a gold/yellow colour. (Sorry, not very good at photoshop.) Sure, I admit that would make them very close to their original jerseys (minus the V shaped shoulders). I guess I'm not very original either.
Meh!! Atleast it's not the RBK Edge design crap that has plagued the NHL since RBK has made the jersey's. Bring back CCM
I have to say. Its a great jersey for the Atlanta Thrashers. As far as Florida goes, seriously guys? Where's the red?
The light blue is identical to the newest sponsors logo (JetBlue) and you've decapitated a once proud cat.
I do like the way the pants and socks and helmet bring it all together though, and I for one actually really like the FLA logo. At least on a scoreboard the panthers are FLA unlike what Ottawa and TB did with SENS and BOLTS. The FLA is at least consistent and shows a union to the teams home state, the Sunshine State of Florida.
@adam.
we almost have it. now the white stripes should be yellow. drop the circle, enlarge the panther head and give him whiskers and I think we will have a winner.
or do the same to Ll Phil's.
YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nice jersey...wrong colors...c'mon... the patch....FLA...childish
I was all prepared to hate these jerseys. I went to the game last night, tho, and I have to say when I saw them in person, I really liked them!
I also really disliked the RBK home and road jerseys we got stuck with...WAY too much going on with stripes, piping, etc...
I've always thought a simplified face of the cat without the legs would be a great logo, and it really turned out to look sharp!
I do agree that the red would have looked great on the jersey, but I don't mind the light blue...
I do find it interesting, tho, that people are in love with red in spite of the fact that Detroit, Chicago, Calgary, etc wear red, but keep calling the light blue as unoriginal....
I do like the more classic lines of the 3rd sweater.....
as someone who clamors for traditional-jersey looks/ hates the rbk aesthetics, i am pleased those elements are here which make me feel like i'm watching a hockey team play -- horizontal lines, shoulder yolk etc.
as someone who likes those things, however, i'll say that it's gonna be hypocritical what i say next.
out of all the teams that employ the vertical piping, the panthers actually kinda works.
hear me out.
http://getitnext.typepad.com/hockey/images/2007/08/31/florida_panthers_home_jersey_3.jpg
that's their main jersey. i always felt like the panther got lost when they used horizontal stripes. The logo is one of the few/ if not only/ that is vertical in nature and the action is vertical / coming forward towards you. To me, the vertical piping kinda works b/c it slims the design down and focuses you in on the animal.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1008/1385710123_0e85918afe.jpg?v=0
to me, with vertical stripes, it gets lost.
and also, i must say -- while i hate the piping, how come it's ok that all pre-RBK teams mostly used the horizontal stripes? Why wasn't that monotonous. I wouldn't mind most / if not all / going back to that, but I hope the Panthers keep the RBK piping. To me, it is the only jersey that works with it.
Doesn't work with Atlanta, Edmonton (is the worst !!!!) , Preds, Flyers white etc.
Thoughts?
Navy blue is to the 2000s as black was to the 1990s
It looks to me like they are wearing a T-Shirt with a blue long sleeve underneath. I really don't like how the sleeve looks.
Overall a decent design. The coulors are great, I love the "FLA" and putting that on the shorts is a nice tough, the name font is awesome and the logo passes, but I really dislike the sleeves......
From the Panthers' website:
We looked at everything,” said Leach last week. “The third jersey is supposed to be different. We evaluated and did an exploration with the club of their concepts and objectives. We looked at the history of the club; we looked at surrounding teams so we wouldn’t overlap. We wanted to create an identity unique to the Panthers.”
Uh-huh . . . yeah, really unique
I dislike the FLA, everything else doesn't bother me so much. I wish it were red, but it wasn't my decision to make.
I like them, and aside from the Penguin-ish color selection, I don't have a problem with a 'lack of originality". Every team should wear something similar to this, with different colors. It has a classic look with horizontal hem striping, but no Bettman stripes or other Reebok childishness.
The only problem with these are they are property of a franchise that would be better off elsewhere.
It's a nice jersey design but I wish they went with Florida's red. That would of looked very nice. The logo reminds me of an updated Prince George Cougars in the WHL. The TSN guys made a funny comment calling them the "Florida Penguins". Regarless of all this, I still like it has a hockey jersey... just not for this team.
adding the red to the mock ups screams lady liberty Ranger third jersey from the past.
1) The shoulder logo is awful. It looks like a morning talk show logo, like "Good Morning Florida" or something like that.
2) It appears to be the offspring of the Blues 3rd and the Penguins 3rd. It's not a terrible jersey, but the colors just don't work for the Panthers. They've always had red and yellow as their main colors. Now those are completely gone from one of their jerseys?
I think they should've stuck to their original colors.
I photoshopped a mockup here
The layout is great for today's NHL, but the colors just seem weird. However, it does look how a hockey sweater should, which is always good.
Brian B23 -- Kudos!! Your comment nailed it!! Hey, maybe the designers are U of Maine grads
Is it me, or did the Penguins move to Florida? What the heck is that? Those are the strangest departure jerseys I have ever seen....
I like them but i agree with whoever mentioned the white striping on the shorts...could probably do with out that. also i would have ditched the round logo and writing and just used the panther head..just a thought
I like the navy, but agree with everyone else that red should have been there somewhere. I can't stand the FLA shoulder patch. Do anything else, that's just dumb. The circle logos need to stop now. Any circle logo after this one is unacceptable.
Awesome! I love this one...so much better than the Avs 3rd jersey
I agree with Ben. This dark blue with light blue accents is stolen from the early Penguins before they switched to black. I like it, but it's not that original. The logo is plain, but way better than that leaping panther with tiny body!
I like the fact that they included hem stripes. Yaaaay for the return of hem stripes!
You hear that Reebok??? NHL's first mistake...... and a very BIG one..... letting a sneaker company design a hockey sweater and destroying it's classic 90+ yr. look.
I wonder if they are trying to match the color scheme of the Tampa Bay Rays with the light and dark blue. Also, the sun on the shoulder is similair to the Rays symbol. Anyone agree????
I don't really like the double blue. Would have rather seen red with just the Panther's head without the circle. Would have looked amazing. Navy accents would have looked good. Another Reebok FAIL.
The pants look cool. The light blue is not a Florida Panth... I mean FLA colour.
They are alright jerseys alone, but it's hard to ignore the fact that they basically stole elements from teams around the league without using any creativity of their own. The jersey needs to be red, Florida should have just put a little light blue in it to please their stupid sponsor. Seriously, I'm sure there are hundreds of eager logo designers even in Florida and this is the best they could come up with?!
they should keep these sweaters as their third and swith their home jersey to red
Adam:: I can get behind that.
Is it just me or does anyone else see a Maine Black Bears jersey with Panthers plastered all over it.
I like that teams are bringing back colored pants. I think everyone with black pants is boring. The stripes are cool too. I like this jersey but it is not very Florida Panthers.
Hmmmm...Impressive...but at the same time, what the?!
From a "what do you think of this jersey" point of view it is quite nice. Everything is good except for the secondary logo. Makes me think, "Oh, I didn't know they renamed the team the FLA Sun-Panthers." No complaints on the primary logo though, it's just a bit repetitive of St. Louis. Otherwise, the new panther head looks good.
Compared to Florida's other jerseys, I can't help but wonder, what happened to the Red?! Honestly, light blue? Did the designer make a glitch and replaced red with light blue? Now I do appreciate they're going with a colour not on their regular, it's alright for a team if they have past connections to that colour, (e.g. Boston's brown, Pittsburgh's blue, Edmonton's orange) but Florida is going overboard introducing a whole new colour to the mix. They could have gone with a radical colour like pink and it still would have looked better than this.
Thinking back though, this is the team that created their first secondary logo by giving their primary panther logo a broken hockey stick. Have to give them some credit for trying this time. They just missed out on a few things. Red instead of light blue would have gotten this a 4.5 and a wish that the striping pattern would be adapted to the primary uni.
Overall 3.5 out of 5.
Very clean look but too copycattish and too generic. Ho-hum, yet another mediocre third (See Sharks, Blackhawks and Bruins). BTW what is up with the Sunny Florida theme? Stick to being the Panthers, not the Shining Sunny Retirement Folks.
I just noticed the pants. My eyes will never be the same.
The blue is probably because they want to prepare people for the panthers big move to Quebec City. Once they are there, the jerseys will make a little more sense.