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)
loving the sabres ridding themselves of the slug, cant believe i bought one of those jerseys. Also psyched that they are using the current thirds instead cuz those are awesome. The new 3rds though look horrible. script , in my opinion, does not look good at all on a hockey jersey.
On a side note for the ducks, does anyone else think that if they came out for even just one season in the old green jerseys from the original mighty ducks movie that it would be amazing? call me crazy but i think it would be funny and awesome
Oilers Rbk unis suck bring back retro full time
I found this site because I finally got fed up and started looking for a place to vent about the current state of NHL jersey design. Not sure if I am alone on this or not, but haven't we had enough of the clown-suits and night shirts and misplaced seams, and the absoutely ugly shoulder yokes?
Can anyone watch the Sharks or Bruins play without wincing?
There are some improvements, if not in structure, at least in color distribution (see Phoenix, Dallas, Anaheim), but for the most part these designs are just plain ugly. And where the layout of the jersey is not hideous, the structure isn't very flattering or comfortable looking. Classics like Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto are marred by the seams and the shaping of the jerseys, especially the bib flap in front and back. Others, like Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Nashville, San Jose, Calgary, Minnesota (!), Colorado, Florida, Edmonton, just look like their designers are trying to make an ugly jersey. This is like major league baseball uniforms of the 1970's all over again.
Perhaps I am too tied to the simple, or the retro, but I think that we can have new looks and still have cool looking jerseys. The current crop just look like something you might see worn by a kid who has an overbearing mom who is overly fond of Cirque du Soleil.
Am I alone in my outrage and disbelief?
Thank God the Buffaslug is dead! Jerseys arent the half of the NHLs woes, Bettman has killed the NHL. It was awesome before he came in. Little do people know that he was vice commisioner of the NBA before coming to the NHl. I seriously think the fans should start an uprising to remove Bettman.
I'll tell you what pisses me off....the CCM era the jerseys didnt look as fake when you bought them...now the 150 dollar ones have logos that look like they're stickers on them...what gives with that crap? they need to go back to CCM, they looked much sharper instead of this NBA look we're striving for...as for the that new sabres 3rd jersey that is the most awful thing ive ever seen in my entire freaking life! ...the rangers 90's jersey is SHARP bring it back as well as the mighty ducks thing for Anaheim (even though disney owns it :( ) HATE dalla's jerseys all together...bring back the originals and make the home jersey a 3rd jersey...Maple leafs...good for them if they bring back the stripe...you might as well buy a t shirt with the logo on it
Now that I know for sure that the New York Rangers will have a NEW 3rd jersey next season, I insist that they should consider thinking about bringing back the dark navy & white alternates(from 1997-2007) to make them the NEW home & road jerseys with the "Statue Of Liberty" logo as it's centerpiece starting in 2011-12.Also, in addition to next season's 3rd jerseys(which should be dark navy saying "N Y R" & team logo on the shoulders), the Rangers should come out with a 'RED" alternate with the shadow of the shield & the letters "N Y R" run over across with the "Statue Of Liberty" logo on the shoulders.
the maple leafs history is very much comparable to the yankees!! keep the logo and jersey back to the original six !!! lou the bartender.
the L.A Kings really should go back to the old 1970's version purple and gold full time (home and road). i don't know what they're waiting for, ut they have taken way too long to get that done!
Sabres switch too much, kings need to change, caps need alt, ducks need to switch ducks on the front to a big D, thrashers need alt to be home and rid the rest,and finally don't touch the sharks.