NHL JerseyWatch 2010
Wednesday · Mar 24 · 2010 | 11:30 AM PDTIf you logged onto Icethetics today hoping for a comprehensive list of new uniforms being prepped for the 2010-11 season, then it's your lucky day . Straight from Reebok, here's how next season's jersey line-up shakes out.
Let's get this out of the way first. There are 15 teams that will not be changing their home, road or alternate jerseys in 2010. They are: Atlanta, Boston, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Ottawa, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Vancouver. In addition, Detroit, Montreal, New Jersey and Washington are the only 4 teams that do not have third jerseys and do not plan on adding or changing anything.
That leaves 11 teams with changes to discuss. This entry will serve as a reference for the next few months, so I'm going to keep things simple by going in alphabetical order.
Anaheim Ducks
New alternate jersey According to the information I have from Reebok, the Ducks will be adding an alternate jersey this season. Their home and road sweaters will remain unchanged.
By the way, the list I have does not detail any design elements so all we'd have is speculation at this point. And I'm going to try to avoid a lot of blind guessing in this post. You guys should feel free to add your speculation in the comments.
Buffalo Sabres
New home, road & alternate jerseys The Sabres will be undergoing big changes to celebrate their 40th anniversary season. Their current third jersey — a throwback with some modern updates — will take over as the home jersey, as has long been rumored.
Reebok lists the Sabres' road sweater as TBD, but it will most likely be a white version of the current alternates. I also understand they'll be adding an entirely new third jersey, but I'm told it may be only for the 40th anniversary season.
Sabres 2010 third jersey conceptIt will be royal blue with BUFFALO in a white script across the front, containing the vintage logo with the player's number underneath. The concept here to the right is my own rough rendering of the description I've been given. I've added the traditional striping and colors.
Obviously this jersey design isn't exact. But based on what I've been told, it's probably a good estimation. We'll have to wait until this summer to find out for sure.
Calgary Flames
New alternate jersey As the Flames have already announced, they will be bringing back the red retro jersey that was worn for a handful of games this season. The major difference is that it will be adapted to the Reebok Edge cut. The striping will remain as is. The home and road sweaters will not change.
The rumored black jersey that was previously in the works has likely either been tabled for a few years or scrapped entirely. We may never know. Unless Ken King gets chatty.
Columbus Blue Jackets
New alternate jersey The Blue Jackets have not made an official announcement, but the Columbus Dispatch confirmed earlier this month that a new third jersey is in development and will be used in the 2010-11 campaign. This is corroborated by Reebok.
According to the newspaper, a cannon will be the central feature of the crest on the new uniform. No other details have been made available at this time.
Dallas Stars
Road & alternate jerseys swapped Reebok confirms that the Stars will officially switch their road and alternate jerseys next season. Both jerseys are white. Currently, the third is a white version of the home jersey, which features DALLAS arched above the sweater number.
As of the fall, the white DALLAS jersey will become the primary road sweater. The one crested with the Stars' primary logo will become the alternate.
Nashville Predators
New home & road; no alternate jersey The indication from Reebok is that the Predators will turn the alternate jersey they launched this season into their new home sweater. The road sweater is listed as TBD but a safe assumption is that it will be a light version of the new dark jersey.
Because of these major changes, the Preds will not wear an alternate next season.
The new home jersey (third, currently) features the same primary logo the team has used since its inception in 1998 but with a simplified color scheme — now navy, steel blue silver and black. The gold and orange have been removed.
New York Islanders
New road jersey The Islanders are still a bit of a mystery for 2010. Reebok says only the road jersey will be changing. However, Isles blogger Chris Botta said last year that the current retro thirds would become the new home sweater.
It could be an oversight on Reebok's part or an indication that the Isles are sticking with their current jersey for home games. Botta also confirmed that a white version of that retro jersey was in the works. It's likely that will be the design of the new road sweater.
All of these questions will likely be answered this summer.
New York Rangers
New alternate jersey Reebok verifies the news we've all been dying to hear. The Rangers will wear an alternate jersey next season. But will it be the Lady Liberty logo make her glorious return?
Possible Rangers third?Reebok doesn't specify, however, Rangers blogger Greg Caggiano recently claimed to have the inside track on the new thirds. He says he's been told they'll be nearly identical to the current home jersey with NEW YORK replacing RANGERS across the front.
Caggiano doesn't specify a source so it could just be guessing. I think it would disappoint a lot of Rangers fans and Icethetics readers. The Rangers arguably had the best third jersey of the '90s with that Statue of Liberty logo emblazoned on the front.
Those navy blue sweaters were so popular that in 1998 the Rangers even added a white version for a short time. They were used up until 2007 when Reebok took over the league.
The Rangers previously wore a blue jersey with NEW YORK on the front from 1978 to 1987. The team's home and road sweaters will not change next season.
Philadelphia Flyers
New road jersey The Flyers will don new road threads for the 2010-11 campaign. While Reebok doesn't say so specifically, it is widely assumed they will wear the retro white jersey that debuted at the 2010 Winter Classic in Boston.
The Flyers have worn the jersey on at least one occasion in front of the home crowd since the outdoor game at Fenway Park. Their home and alternate jerseys will remain unchanged.
Pittsburgh Penguins
New alternate jersey It's been widely rumored and now Reebok is confirming that the Penguins will ditch their powder blue thirds in favor of a new alternate uniform for 2010-11. Once again, the manufacturer hasn't released any details of the design.
However, Tribune-Review beat writer Rob Rossi said in December that blue would be returning in some fashion to the new third jersey. It's probably a safe bet that the Pens will dig into their past once again for this sweater — likely going with one of the darker blue options.
The home and road jerseys will stay the same.
Toronto Maple Leafs
New home & road jerseys This may be a tad misleading. Reebok says the Maple Leafs will redesign their home and road sweaters for next year. Technically, this is accurate, but it won't be a major overhaul. At least not according to Howard Berger.
He claims to have seen all of the 2010 jersey changes and says that the white stripes, once around the base of the team's jerseys before Reebok got involved, will finally be returning. He also says the jerseys will have a new shoulder patch, noting that the previous one was a TML logo which debuted in 2000. He doesn't say what the new one will look like.
The retro alternate jersey will remain intact.
And that's your JerseyWatch 2010 update. This post will continue to be updated throughout the summer as new details emerge. Any thoughts on the changes for the new season?
Reader Comments (109)
I am pretty excited to see the Pens ditch the current 3rd. The only people I see wearing blue stuff are around my age (21) and bandwagon jumpers. This is obviously not true for everyone who has it but in my experiences it seems to be people who did not know the Pens even existed before Crosby.
Lord, the Sabres' 3rd is hideous! It's great they're getting rid of the 'slug for the old logo, but the script? I know it's an approximation, but YOW! Even the red/black 90's jerseys would be better...actually blue/gold with the white buffalo head sounds...well, better than this.
To the Dallas Stars Management:
Your NHL franchise will never be a basketball team, no matter how much you want it to be a basketball team.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Hockey
That Buffalo alternate looks and sounds pretty cool, it's nice to see teams try something new with something old. I'm incredibly disappointed Dallas isn't doing something new, their current set is just so incredibly boring. As a Flames fan I really wish they would just ditch the flags already, or at least go with a flag that would actually fit the jersey (something like, oh I don't know, Calgary's red & white flag?!). I really hope the Rangers bring back Lady Liberty; that jersey just rocked, although "NEW YORK" would be alright too... I guess...
A Rangers third basically replacing the wording with "New York". Yawn.
Boston really needs to make those Winter Classic threads their third ASAP.
And shame on Pittsburgh.
I recently heard on a game broadcast that the Islanders will be using the retro jersey as the new home jersey, all though I could never get better confirmation. Also all the logos inside the arena itself have been slowly changing over to the retro colors and away from the dark navy blue of the current jersey. This tells me that they will be going retro for 2010-11
The isles tried swap home and third this year like the Flyers and the Oilers did. The NHL told them no, they thought they wouldn't be able to clear out the old homes and didn't waive the 2 year rule like they did for The oil and flyers, both of whom move a lot more jerseys.
Retro home and road is pretty much a given for the isles. Bridgeport is already wearing them.
starsfan... i truly feel for you buddy. i loved the edmonton-dallas matchups seemingly every playoff year threw the late '90s early '00s not only because they were hard faught battles, but because the colors matched up so well (LOL i know that sounds dumb but this is a jersey site and im a jersey type of guy). midnight blue and copper vs a beautiful dallas jersey with the star featured around the jersey and the perfect mix of dark green, black and gold. dallas has really messed up lately, they used to have one of the most favorable jerseys and i loved them for that, but now i've lost a lot of respect for them.
Cannot agree with Kyojikasshu whatsoever; always disliked the Islanders so-called 'dynasty' design and the increase in width of the orange stripe was a truly brilliant solution on designer Terry Golstein's part to increasing the proportion of that color and making the original 1972-1977 jersey motif that much more attractive - while we're at it, under NO circumstances should the shade EVER be changed back to the more red-orange resolving one, and it goes without saying that the logo should NEVER be messed with again in terms of size or proportion either! One concession: would be willing to consider a dynasty-styled 3rd IF, and ONLY if, the amount of sleeve and hem-based orange remained comparable and, again, NO redder tone.....
I would not be surprised of the B with the Sabre going through it makes its way on the third jersey. The Sabres use the logo a lot, so I would be suprised if they drop it all together.
I would suggest that the Rangers have NEW YORK be written as the New Yankees, Mets or Knicks have it written as a semi-circle on the upper side of their jersey.
There's no arguably about it. I hate the Rangers, but their "Lady Liberty" third jersey was not only great to look at, but also probably the logo that most clearly associates itself with the city it's representing. The Rangers are dumb for not making that their main jersey.
I'm not a Sabers fan, but I always respected the team. I was rooting for them over the Stars in the cup finals back in the day. I have hoping they would ditch the Slug since day 1. I can not believe it took them this long to go back to one of the best logos in the game ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To the couple of people who asked about the NJD Red & Green jerseys.
I've heard that Lou is considering making it a once a year thing, perhaps on St Patrick's day.
As a Ranger fan, I'm glad it's not the liberty jersey. It was nice during its run but was an overrated jersey. I wouldn't mind them not having a third jersey at all but if it's a minor change like this, I don't really mind.
As for the Pens, I love the retro third. If they go with a navy blue primary with powder blue trim, won't it look just like the Panthers thirds? The NBA went overboard with teams rebranding in those two colors. I hope the NHL doesn't go that way either.
Sabres...There was a Slabyk - Celsius Design that had Buffalo in script on front..it was VERY nice. I looked at the site yesterday..today it is pulled off the internet..even at wikipedia Slabyk has been 86'd. Maybe the Sabres bought his design ALL RIGHT..That Buffalo in script was classy..as were his other Sabres designs. Let's hope the finally do it right !! If not is he in cement shoes at the bottom of lake erie..I mean this is getting weird...
@ BLUESHIRTS95 - The 3rd jersey design is a homage to the old AHL Buffalo Bisons. It's still a well thought of team in WNY, and they won a number of Calder Cups. I've attached a link to the logo.
Regarding the buffalo "jersey" I'm not sure if you guys know how to read and just chose not to or don't know how... it was an artist's rendering based on the description given... which was very incomplete. I bet it looks much different. And if the buffaslug is listed as an alternate logo... I fear it will be on the shoulder patch. I hope it's only listed because it's on the scoreboard and other places around the arena. Plus people spent so much money on mrch that contains it... maybe it's just a way to playcate the kids who liked it. I don't know any adults who did.
Seriously, can we quit with this reebok edge bulls***? I really don't understand why they thing making three thousand jerseys for each team is a good idea, no one buys them anyway because they're so horrendously expensive. Honestly, they're making a mockery of the league. Gary Bettman better stop selling out the NHL and realize what he's doing to the hockey fans he already has
Thank God the Red Wings are leaving their classic jerseys alone... Detroit has the best uniforms in hockey... Montreal is a close second...
Why can't teams come up with a great jersey and leave them alone? The Sabres jersey was awesome in the old days. The switch to Black-n-Red and then the Buffalo slug were atrocious...
I wonder if the geniuses from Reebok that decided to include all of the ridiculous unnecessary piping everywhere and stripes that only go half way around ever logs on to Icethetics.info... They might get the hint. I say the same thing about the bozo who decided that hockey needs more script logos. (C'mon, Dallas and Buffalo, really?) This isn't baseball!
Sabres - Whadd'ya think if the new roads were slightly off-white, kinda like the SF Giants home unis??? Just thinking out loud, seeing what sticks.
Some of the jersey changes are interesting, but nothing really radical yet. I would love to see some teams really take risks and try unusual colors, designs, etc. with their alternates.
Also, it's been mentioned that a few teams should go completely retro. I'M WITH YOU! I'm a huge NY Islanders fan and I really really really hope they just go back to the basic blue and white jerseys they had c. 1972-1994. They had the most success with those jerseys, and Islanders fans correct me if I'm wrong, but we never wanted to see the old one go away anyway. Same goes for Buffalo and Edmonton. These organizations feel that if they go retro, it has to be with an "updated" look. To be fair, the Pittsburgh and Washington did that with success, but there is NOTHING WRONG with going completely retro. Your fans will probably love you for it.
I would love to see a version of the black Sens jersey that loses the wordmark and uses the 2D redesign of the clubs original logo instead. Barring that I'd like to see the 2D logo on the white jersey, then have a retro O jersey. I've loved that 2D logo redesign since Reebok overhauled things, yet it hasn't been used on anything that I've ever seen.
@SamCohen... BUT THIS ISN'T BASEBALL!!! Why sould NHL teams be copying what other sports do, when the fact is they should be copying what we do!! Put the the front or leave the writing in diagonal format.
I'll be surprised and a bit miffed if the Canucks don't ditch the killer whale logo soon. I don't understand why this is so confusing. Now that they've introduced the skating Johnny Canuck logo into their merchandising portfolio (Luongo and Raycroft are wearing a hat with the logo when on the bench), they are currently operating with 4 different logos (Whale, Stick-in-Rink, Skating Johnny, Johnny V).
Where is the brand consistency? They should have a white version of the current third jersey, and use them as the principal jerseys, and then support them with a Johnny Canuck third jersey. As they've had such a tumultuous history of uniform changes, have one vintage night a year, where they bring back a blast from the best. But get on with it already...
Maybe the Buffalo Sabres are going further retro with their 3rd jersey. Perhaps it'll be based on the old Buffalo Bisons jersey of the AHL and even throw in the bottle cap. Yes, the Buffalo hockey team had script 'Buffalo' for away and 'Bisons' for home many decades ago. It's a part of their history--not because of some Reebok trend in the NHL or to look like a baseball jersey.
@ OILCOUNTRY Reebok isn't American. Reebok is from the UK, and they bought a Canadian company (CCM) to enter the hockey market in 2005, and then were bought by Adidas, a German company, in 2006. I know you Canadians love to blame hockey problems on Americans, but this one wasn't us. Those ugly white Nike skates from the 90s are a different story though haha.
Pens are supposedly getting the new third to honor their new arena. I think it would be cool to make a version of the very first jersey they wore with a blue diagonal Pittsburgh to also honor their old arena at the same time. Or the yellow ones from 82-85, with yellow helmets to match.
Stars are heading in the wrong direction. The only thing worse is that SENS roller hockey-looking crap.
Sabres are overthinking it. Take a picture of Dale Hawerchuck and make the jersey. Done.
Columbus Cannon sounds kinda lame, but maybe it'll look better than it sounds.
Being a Canuck fan is as tough as being an American citizen during the George W years. For a franchise that names its celebrity goalie as the team captain, this cannot be a surprise. I find it so frustrating when I walk into the Canucks Store at GM Place. I see all these fantastic items with the Stick 'n Rink and Johnny Canuck logos but neither one is the primary mark for my beloved team. The Orca has no green, the Vancouver wordmark is gaudy and makes both the home and away sweaters look cluttered. This is not the way to celebrate the 40th anniversary season. The Orca may be a West Coast symbol, but let's establish a CANUCKS BRAND. Let's bury the bad memories of Halloween AND Orca Bay once and for all.
the reason the pens are ditching the blues is because they were a huge hit when they came out, but most pittsburgh ppl already have one so they're not making any profit. it sounds ridiculous but it's true.
I have a few comments about this good and bad news
1) how can Anaheim have a good looking 3rd, re-color their pre-rbk blacks
2) thank the great lord above, the slug is on its way out
3) if the CBJ jersey is the same as the one rumored to be the third they are greatly missing the mark of a good 3rd
4) BRING BACK LADY LIBERTY!
5) Dallas should just wipe the entire slate clean and start from scratch NO DALLAS script
6) I think that the third will be a white 67 jersey with the 5 blue stripes and a skating penguin instead of the script
And last but not least
FINALLY, the leafs smartened up and added tail stripes and as for the shoulder patches i woould like to see a modernized 1990's shoulder logo
Good stuff - shared this on my blog :-)
Not impressed with the Rangers changing their jersey, not much of a jump. I like the Islanders retro thirds and hope they make the rumored switch. And let me just say, THANK GOODNESS the Penguins are retiring their baby blues!
Sabres wont look like that at all....its very different
BOOOOOOO to the RBK EDGE CRAP!!!! I miss the CCM days
@JAMES are you talking about the original ottawa logo? if thats the case then yeah i think they should get rid of the 3D logo and re-adopt the 2D logo. They used to have such NICE jerseys, like back in their SC appearance. They need to put their jerseys back exactly like they were in 2006/07 but the third jersey should feature the much loved "O"
@HOCKEYTONK LOL while its true that we canadians blame hockey problems on the USA, thats only becuase Gary Bettman. And now i hate the UK!!!!
Chris, I'd just like to point out that I went to the Stars/Flyers game earlier this month, and I've noticed that they photoshop all their players in black to make it look like they're in green jerseys. I saw this on their FSN channel too. I wouldn't be too surprised if they were making the home green.
Why don't all these teams get public input, there are plenty of talented people out there that can come up with better ideas then what I see here. Have a contest and get the public involved. If the Sabres had done that a few years ago they wouldn't have the Slug on their jersey now!!
The Preds' current alternate jersey (home jersey next year) is probably the best looking in the league.
@ TJ... I think the teams should realease a list of like 3 jerseys or something. One could be a retro, one could be leave lt like it is, and the other could be something new. Let the fans vote, then let the majority be happy. Fans are the gas that fuels the team to keep going, so let them decide which unis they dress in. Whoever the person was in Buffalo that Okayed the slug must of been blind or severly ill... Same goes for the Oilers Copper/blue set. Some ppl in managment really have no sense of style at all.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the proposed New York third jersey was already worn almost ten years ago. The Rangers and the Sabres both wore Jerseys that had the slanting New York script in honour of the attacks of September 11th. It would be pretty interesting to see the rangers go for that move, but let's hope for something a little more original.
@Blue&Gold-Ok I get the script at least, but that is the only good part. It goes south (literally and figuratively) from there. Let the script go alone (no #, no subliminally messaged logos) and I have no problem
I really hope my Ducks do something to make the fan base proud to wear their unis in public. I used to hate the Mighty Ducks movie-inspired threads, but now I get nostalgic for them (and actually love the colors in retrospect.) Our franchise is responsible for the worst non-minor league sweater in hockey history, the worst logo currently in use in the NHL, and it's an embarrassment.
For the record though, I noticed someone commented that "Poor Anaheim fans have never had a nice jersey" - but this is not true. In 2005-06, the Ducks had a very clean black and eggplant third that read "Anaheim" across the front that is VERY similar to the font that Minnesota currently has on their thirds. Now THAT was a sweater to be proud of, but alas, no "DUCK" to be found..
Maybe someday we'll have something cool like what the Penguins have (and no, I'm not talking about those horrid powder blue thirds - I'm talking about their cool logo.)
I really with Lou would use the red/green devils jerseys next season...at least for like saturday games or something. really liked them.
too bad the flames aren't changing their god-awful jerseys with the corny flags on the shoulders
mildly related to new jerseys... maybe do some digging on Phoenix. If you go to NHL's shop page, Coyotes jersey sizes are very limited (home, road and 3rd), compared to the two other teams I looked at, the Blackhawks and Sharks. Is this a hint that they won't be in Phoenix next year or are trying something different? Just struck me as odd.
Oilcountry, both teams played some damn good hockey back in those years that they played each other in the playoffs didn't they? oh the good old days lol. i dont blame you for losing respect in the organization lol it hasn't been a good couple of years for the franchise or either of the two teams for that matter. with the black/white/gold home jerseys i sometimes forget i'm watching the stars play until i see the crowd and look at the center ice logo. i personally would like to see the oilers go full retro starting next year. as for the stars, GREEN, gold and, black NOT black and gold with a real logo on the jersey!!(with no ridiculous piping either) and no worries i'm a jersey geek too.
hockeytonk, SENS roller hockey crap.....hahaha nice.
If the Pens and the Caps face of in a Winter classic, expect the jerseys to be that of the early 90's. Before the Caps went to Blue, Gold, and Black and after the Pens went to Black and Gold.
I talked to a shop owner who gets all of the insite regarding jersey changes. He told me the Leafs will indeed be adding the bottom striping to their jersey, but will be adding the shoulder patches from the 90's (Gilmour era) and apparently there will also be a lace in the neck. If this is true, I'm psyched for the change.
I'm also one of those believers in the Leafs going back to their full time retro Leaf logo from the 60's, but this source also explained to me that the reason the Leafs have not done so is due to the fact that the Smythe family owns that particular logo. So whenever the Leafs use their 3rd jersey the Smythe family gets a cut of the gate sales from that game (I'm assuming this is only for Leafs home games).
I just want to add (because I think for myself as a Canucks fan to say this it must be worth something), the Oilers third is one of the best bar none in the NHL. For them to delay using it permanently as their home sweater is insane to me.
Finally the leafs have decided to change? and for a good reason, its about time they do as new jerseys will bring new excitement. A preference of mine would be for the leafs to add solid white piping down their pants, every original six team has them and to me looks awesome.