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)
Meh!! Atleast it's not in the RBK Edge crap style of jersey. Bring back CCM. Report has it that the Pens are ditching the panzy powder blue unis come next year when they move into Consol Energy Center. Please, Please, Please let the new 3rds resemble the '91 Cup winning unis(Yellow gold and all). see www.nhluniforms.com As long as it's not the RBK Edge crap
I love how no one ever likes any jersey that ever comes out. It's always "Ew, black/navy!" or "too cluttered" or "OMG NO BOTTOM HEMTRIPE!!! THIS SUCKS!1!!!11"
It's a good looking jersey.
I really like this jersey. Sure, it doesn't scream "Florida Panthers" with the lack of red, but isn't the whole point of the 3rd jersey to establish a new or alternate identity for the team? I have no problem with the color scheme. Besides the horrendous "FLA" patch, this jersey, in my opinion, is pretty sharp, and if I were a Panther fan, I'd buy one for sure.
as a jersey, it is one of the best i've ever seen. it's fantastic to look at, the stripes are all where the stripes need to be, they are unique in their purest sense (white-blue-white-baby blue)...it's not a template that another team wears, but it reminds you of every other jersey without being any of them.
the color palette is phenomenal. I love the blue and blue, it works so friggin well.
The circular logo is classy, the laceup is necessary, the shoulders great, the palm tree is gone, the sun is still shining on FLA.
this jersey has perfect execution of a hockey Sweater.
but if you step back to the bigger picture, it is what everyone else is saying: unoriginal. The colors have become overused. I wanted someone to pick up that color scheme so badly...but not for every team to do it. The circle logo is great, but the pens had it in 68-72, the wild picked it up next, and now everyone is using it. It simply isn't the florida panthers, and that's a real shame, because it is such a great sweater.
cough*betterthanColoradosugltpOSjerseys*cough
I like the stripes on the pants. very reminiscent of Winnipeg's old striped shorts.
"grade school gym shorts"
I had a hard time putting into words what I had imagined when I saw this jersey.
You sir have done just that.
Thank you.
I'm not really liking their choice of colors here, I don't mind this design (minus the weird shoulder patch logo), but I don't really think the jersey colors suit the panthers identity. I believe that teams should utilize their teams colors for third jerseys rather than going with a completely different color scheme. That red mock-up version of the new Panthers thirds that the one earlier poster bw had posted with his message, would have been much better.
Personally I think in this day and age, its rather difficult to come up with a completely unique and original jersey design. Hence the reason why some teams feel the need to copy some traits of other teams jerseys, such as colors, stripe pattern, or jersey and logo templates. At least this Panthers third jersey has a unique stripe pattern, other wise I guess you could call them the Florida Penguins, when they wear these.
Adam has it dead on with his concept design. The red would be perfect with this uniform cause then it looks more original and floridian.
I love throwbacks and glad teams are getting with it but it has now become a common thing and it's starting to worry me that most teams will be using the same design and defeat the entire purpose of the "throwback" uniform. It's supposed to be unique but classic.
This is a very rare example of the great execution of a bad idea. I love this jersey but it doesn't look like the Panthers. The Pens and the Thrashers have already done two-tone blue. I wish Florida went with a slightly different palette... That being said, I still may buy one.
I like the logo and the design of the jersey.
My problem is that it's navy blue. I've stated it many times how I feel there are too many teams with black or navy blue as a jersey color. It just makes everything less exciting visually.
I would vote for the Panthers to make these jerseys full-time and create a white version of it for the road games. BUT, instead of navy blue, I would make them the red they had when they first came in the league. And I'd replace the sky blue shoulder patches with the navy blue that was always used as a secondary color.
That red always gave their jersey that tropical feel, to me, when they first came to the league. It made them unique, despite them wearing red, like many other teams. The red they wore still had its own unique flavor to it.
But, I must say, I do prefer these jerseys over the ones they've been wearing since the Reebok Age.
As a hockey jersey in general, it looks great. Love the double blue. It doesn't look like a Florida Panthers jersey, though. Needs some red and yellow.
I hate everything about them. A viewer should be able to easily identify the team from the jersey and these fail miserably in that regard. I might be the only one on the planet who doesn't mind the Panther logo in its full form and I miss the red. I don't mind changing things up a bit, but keep the red and yellow scheme which everyone knows represents the Panthers. Also the shoulder logos, which are also used on the pants, are beyond atrocious. I see sun, and I see the letters F-L-A and I think of that guy in Slap Shot.
It's a very nice traditional look. The combination of navy blue and sky blue is how a double blue scheme should look like. However, I agree with most people. Red should be in the place of navy, navy in the place of sky blue, and more yellow-gold trimming is needed. Also, while I like the old-school ring with the team name around the logo, it's too common now. Just stick with the head. The bigger question is how long will the Panthers stay in Florida?
Florida did everything right with these jerseys. These are honestly Florida's first real hockey jerseys. If they were my team I'd buy one. Who cares if they look similar to other jerseys? You all bitch when things get changed up anyway.
I Actually Think It's Good That The Panthers Didn't Bring Back Red. Belive Me, In Basketball, I'm A Nets Fan.
I am a penguin fan and from Pittsburgh and I sorta see how people can compare to the Pens thirds but for me I think it is a direct knock off of the Maine Black Bears . Search it you will see
I like them, but there is too much blue. Red would have been my choice, but I have no say in the matter so I guess we'll have to live with them.
The thing that bothers me apart from the FLA is the pants. Something about them bothers me... and I kind of wish that they would spend the money to make those actual pants instead of just the shell. Doesn't look as good.
Where they really went well was with the bottom striping. Finally! Somebody gets it.
the new streamlined panther head looks good, but as everyone else has mentioned, this is just too derivative and un-pantherish to seem right. when i first saw this, the first thing that popped in my head was "maine black bears." design itself isn't bad, just wrong choice of colors.
Overall, the jersey is pleasing but they shoulda used red in there somewhere or yellow or orange (other than the logo).
For the FLA logo, its okay, but i would have liked to see either hockey stick in there somewhere or use the old FLA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FloridaPanthersAlternate.png) and redesign it but incorporate the same style
The new Florida jersey looks like a knock-off of a knock-off. It's exceedingly bland (what, they couldn't put a sun design around panther head?) and uses a color that's not associated with the team or its current uniform. And baby blue is very bad on any hockey jersey, which is why it hasn't been used since the 1970s.
But the worst? The pants look like swim trunks, especially when the player leaves the string hanging.
Forget the panthers, wild and blues what the panthers really ripped off was Hockey Night In Canada
The Maine Black Bears are now in the NHL
It looks a lot like the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors Jersey. Or could pass for one.
looks the like the same jersey as pittsburgh would wear. i personally would want to see a red jersey instead like they use to wear?
Yeah, I'm not really sure this look works for the Panthers. I don't like how the logo is a simplified logo of the panther with no whiskers or defining features. I'm getting absolutely sick of other teams stealing the Wild and Penguins' circle logo look. For the Wild: OK, fine, you did it first with the Edge system. For the Pens: Sure, this works because it is in your history. For everyone else: Seriously, come up with another idea. The Avs sweaters are pathetic-looking so I thought these alternates couldn't get much worse, but Florida has shown me that is untrue.
All in all, it's a nice clean sweater, but it is totally unoriginal and it doesn't even fit their color scheme, which is so unique that it shouldn't have been as hard as they made it to design something original
Copy of the mid 70's Penguins road jersey.
Thank God for more hem stripes!
I like the idea but not the execution. A classic jersey is a nice touch but unless the Panthers are changing their primary color scheme I would have liked to have seen the teams colors on this jersey.
ewwww y blue for florida
Very nice look. And no, they don't remind me of the Pens since the Pens have been in black and gold for 29 years now.
And besides, 10 years ago everyone (including myself) was crying about how hockey sweaters were looking so... bad. The late 90s Sabres were bad. Anything the Ducks wore in the 90s was bad. We had the Bruins Pooh sweater, the Stars uterus, the ultra-modern Penguin, and a red-to-blue gradient on the Canucks. Now we're finally getting back to horizontal striping and a more traditional look, and people bitch. I just don't get it.
These jerseys just scream FLORIDA PANTHERS!........eerrrgggh.......NOT!
They actually scream...U of Maine..or Penguins..or Thrashers...or...maybe even the Lightning but not the Panthers?????
Can you believe someone actually got paid to design this outfit?
Who the hells in charge over there? No wonder the building is always empty and only us die hard hockey fans care about this team. Sombody should be fired over this fiasco!
I hope they dont make very many of these because they will be clogging up the clearance isle at TJMaxx, Ross and Marshalls for years.
i think they're taking their new colour scheme from fellow florida sports team, Tampa Bay Rays of the MLB. They're eerily similar.
I have no idea why everyone seems so gung-ho on the red for the Panthers. Where on the entire planet is there a RED panther? Panthers are either some dark shade of black, or a brown-or-gold. (Not to mention the fact that RED IS THE MOST OVER-USED AND MOST-ABUSED COLOR IN ALL OF WORLD SPORTS!!!!!!!) The color I would have most liked to have seen played up was gold. Gold and dark blue. I would have been happer with the dark blue look of the new 3rd jersey, but instead of that light blue, a nice soft panther-fur-gold. Either way, I very much like the new jerseys, but they are not "wow" quality.
isn't that the original pittsburgh penquin uniforn for crine out loud