Caps Turn 35, Opt Against Third

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Capitals 35th patchWe're tracking Washington Capitals jerseys news today. They just celebrated 35 years and the final word on a Caps third jersey is here.

On Saturday night, the Capitals wore a special 35th anniversary patch on their jerseys. This after it was postponed last month due to inclement weather.

Icethetics reader Lowell sent in this photo of the patch (right) and he plans on sewing it onto his Caps jersey.

In the meantime, if you want to see how it looked in action, here's a shot of Alex Ovechkin wearing it on his jersey. The patch-enhanced sweaters were put up on the auction block on Saturday night after the game. Anyone want to guess how much his went for?

While we're on the subject of rare jerseys, the Capitals have no intention of adding a third in the foreseeable future, according to owner Ted Leonsis.

This is a story PuckDrawn picked up on last week. In a video interview on Caps365, Leonsis said:

There's no active discussion, there's no work on it. We introduced new jerseys a couple years ago. The fan base was not supportive of that. My favorite from one of our message board posters was, "How dare you! This looks like a colostomy bag!" I kept that one.

And now I think our logo and color scheme are amongst the most accepted, best-selling and best-looking in the league. Sometimes injecting change is difficult.

I don't feel the compelling need to have the third jersey. I also think it's unfair to introduce a third jersey because people want to then go out and buy them. And with the economy being the way it is, I just thought it would look greedy on our part.

At some point when it feels right, and maybe the fan base gives us permission to do that, we'll certainly do it, but now didn't seem like the right time.

You can click here to watch the video. The third jersey conversation takes place around the 18-minute mark.

So as awesome as it might be, don't expect a blue Weagle jersey anytime soon. Caps fans don't want it. Yet. But when they do, it'll be one of the best around.

The best chance we have now seeing the Caps in anything other than their current jerseys is the 2011 Winter Classic. Assuming the rumors are true, one would hope they'd opt for a throwback sweater like everyone else has done so far — even if their previous jerseys are pretty awful.

Comments

[Jason]

A Caps third that uses their current template or a similar style, but with different colors (say Black like Carolina) would look pretty awesome. I hope they reconsider in the future.

[Jake]

Wow. That's the first time that I've heard an owner actually admit that third jerseys are money-making ploys. Big ups for that.

[Bill]

I think Ted Leonsis is the classiest NHL owner out there, and it shows. He might be rich but he puts out an image that screams middle class, and I think alot of fans appreciate his actions. Not many owners in any realm of economics would turn down the chance to bring in millions in revenue, but leonsis takes the time to see it from the viewpoint of the average joe.

[Matt]

I love the weagle but think it would look weird on the wrong of the jersey all by itself. I'm not sure exactly how it would turn out, but I would like to see a Chicago WC/Third Jersey style where navy blue replaced the black, and the Weagle would be put into the circle. I don't have much talent photoshop wise but would even love to see a concept like that.

[Slam]

For the WC, they need to go with their original sweaters and white pants. Not the greatest look but no one else has ever done that and it's just for one game.

[Ogre39666]

Loensis is far from classy (his constant shots at Lemieux and co. anyone?), he just knows how to cater to a fan base.

[Scott]

Here's what the jerseys went for

Ovechkin, $7,100
Bradley, $3,400
Semin, $3,100
Green, $3,000
Laich, $2,750
Steckel, $2,500
Backstrom, $2,450
Knuble, $2,300
Theodore, $2,000
Carlson, $2,000
Varlamov (backup only), $1,900
Chimera, $1,400
Belanger, $1,200
Fleischmann, $1,200
Walker, $1,200
Fehr, $1,100
Corvo, $1,100
Poti, $1,000
Schultz, $1,000
S. Morrissonn, $1,000
B. Morrison, GI, $1,000
Neuvirth, GI, $800
Erskine, GI, $750
Alzner, GI, $700
Laing, GI, $650
Beagle, GI, $600
Jurcina, GI, $600
Sloan, GI, $550
Perreault, GI, $550
B.Gordon, GI, $500
Pothier, GI, $475
Osala, GI, $475
Aucoin, GI, $450
A.Gordon, GI, $450
Giroux, GI, $450
Bourque, GI, $450
Wilson, GI, $350

[Glen]

Ahem, while you guys were all drooling about white pants, did I not call that? Just checking.

[anon]

While 3rd jerseys are nice, they obviously are a blatant money-making ploy.
But when you have a superstar on your team like AO, it's almost idiotic business sense not to bring in a 3rd!
go CAPITALism!