The Big Bad Draft Recap of 2011
Saturday · Jun 25 · 2011 | 5:47 PM PDTI can't remember the last time an NHL draft yielded so many new jerseys. Eight different teams used the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul to showcase something new. So settle in, there's a lot to cover.
Oilers Go Full-On Retro
1 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 19 Oscar Klefborn, 62 Samu Perhonen, 92 Dillon Simpson
After 16 years, the Edmonton Oilers once again look like they did when they entered the NHL in 1979. The Oilers used the first overall pick in the draft to select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as well as to unveil their new retro road sweater — which now matches their home uniform, with the colors reversed.
This is exactly what Edmonton fans wanted and I'm happy to see them get it. The jersey looks fantastic! On the team's website, Oilers president Patrick LaForge said, "We listened to our fans and know they will be happy to see the set complete with the new road vintage jersey." Truer words were never spoken.
The Oilers also announced that the previous road jersey is officially retired. And while they didn't say so specifically, it's likely the navy and copper third jersey will remain in use next season.
Seeing Red in South Florida
3 Jonathan Huberdeau, 64 Vincent Trocheck, 76 Logan Shaw, 87 Jonathan Racine
Earlier this month, the Florida Panthers launched their "We See Red" marketing campaign — an effort to return to the franchise's color roots. This weekend, it culminated with the reveal of their new red home sweater, which was given to each of their 2011 draft picks.
The Panthers didn't do an all-out redesign with this jersey, but more of a color swap. The sleeves are now blue, but there is no piping on — a refreshing change of pace from the old jersey. So that's a big plus. All in all, I think this is easily the best jersey in the Cats' arsenal at this point.
But that's not to say it's perfect. The elbow striping is an element of the Reebok Edge template that I just don't like. Maybe if it went all the way around the arm. I also think gold piping would've looked sharp and added contrast between the red and blue on the sleeves. But these are not dealbreakers.
I don't yet know about the fate of their other jerseys. I would assume the white road uniform will remain unchanged. They could use the old home jersey (the blue one) as a third jersey, but I think the blue alternate they already have is superior. So I'd bet the old home sweater is retired.
On Behalf of the Winnipeg Jets...
78 Brennan Serville, 7 Mark Scheifele, 119 Zachary Yuen, 157 Jason Kasdorf
The new Winnipeg franchise used the occasion to announce their new name — or should I say old name? The Winnipeg Jets are once again an NHL team. How about that. Unfortunately, while the team had a name ready to go, they couldn't say the same about a logo and jerseys.
Each of their draftees were given generic black jerseys with the NHL shield on the front. Rest assured, this will not be the uniform of the Jets come the fall. True North chairman Mark Chipman has said it may be a while before we see the new uniforms and logo.
Illegal Curve tweeted some details from Chipman yesterday. He said they wanted to have a prototype jersey ready for the draft, but were worried about knockoffs showing up before they were able to put official merchandise on sale. So production time is likely the reason we'll have to wait to see the new branding.
The team has also said that the colors "won't be completely different" from the old Jets. I take that to mean possibly a darker shade of blue and the addition of a third color such as silver. So another red and blue team, then. Fun. I may sound bitter, but at least the Thrashers and their too many colors were unique.
Earlier today, TSN's Darren Dreger tweeted, "I haven't seen the Winnipeg Jets new logo or sweater design, but I'm told it's very impressive." I'm sure it is. And I'm sure a lot of money is being spent to make sure of that. To be honest, I hope it doesn't leak so as to avoid the knockoff issues.
New Bolts Get New Blues
148 Nikita Nesterov, 27 Vladislav Namestnikov, 178 Adam Wilcox
The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled completely redesigned blue and white uniforms back in January. This weekend, they handed them out to their new draft picks in St. Paul.
There is one element of the jerseys that has changed since we last saw them at the January press conference. The numbers now feature an inner black outline after enough Bolts fans complained about the lack of black in the new threads. (I wasn't one of them.)
As much as I've praised these new sweaters, I was disappointed by one thing I noticed this weekend. Based on the previous pictures I've seen, I thought the blue was a lot lighter than it is. Turns out it's basically identical to the Maple Leafs' blue. Really not happy about that. Don't get me wrong, I'm still buying one, but I was hoping Stevie Y would do something to make us stand out.
Predators Decide to Simplify
38 Magnus Hellberg, 52 Miikka Salomaki
The Nashville Predators didn't have a pick in the first round this year due to the Mike Fisher trade, so we had to wait a day to see their new road jersey. As the NHL draft picked up with Round 2 this morning, the Preds gave the new sweater to their draftees, who became the first players to wear them.
While both new jerseys were sort of leaked on Thursday, we learned they weren't the final versions. Today we can play spot the differences. The biggest one (and only one that I could spot) would be the left shoulder which featured the word NASHVILLE in small text. On this version, it's only seen on the back of the collar. Everything else is basically how we first saw it.
Prior to the jersey leak, the new logos were officially unveiled, so I won't spend anymore time discussing them. I did want to note, however, that the new guitar pick logo is only used on the right shoulder of the road uniform. I suspect it will be the same on the gold home jersey.
Kings' Worst Kept Secret is Official
49 Christopher Gibson, 110 Michael Mersch
The Los Angeles Kings will have a new road uniform next season and their 2011 draft picks became the first to sport it for cameras today. (Like Nashville, they lacked a first round pick.) And for what it's worth, it was the worst kept secret of the year. We first saw this jersey way back in October!
Well a version of it, anyway. An Icethetics reader snapped a photo of what appeared to be prototype jerseys in Luc Robitaille's office at the Kings' practice facility before last season even started. To be fair, though, there's an L.A. pee wee team that's been wearing something similar for a while now.
They're nice. That's really all I can say. By dropping the purple from their palette, I think the Kings have done themselves a disservice. But the new jerseys aren't bad. But for the waist stripes, this new road sweater nearly matches the black and silver alternate the Kings have been wearing for a couple of years. It will become the new home jersey.
The old black and purple home sweater will become a third jersey and the old road sweater will be retired.
Isles, Sens Add Patches to Mark Special Occasions
5 Ryan Strome, 127 Brenden Kichton, 21 Stefan Noesen
The New York Islanders have created a new 40th anniversary shoulder patch while the Ottawa Senators will wear an All-Star Game patch for the 2011-12 season. The new add-ons were first spotted on the teams' first round draft picks on Friday night.
This is our first time seeing the Islanders' new 40th anniversary mark and I'm still waiting to get a better look. So far the above pictures are the best I've seen. The Isles entered the league in 1972 with the Atlanta Flames, but Calgary tends to only recognize the Calgary years with their anniversary logos.
Ottawa hosts the 2012 All-Star Game next season but the logo was first unveiled way back in September. The Senators are also celebrating their 20th anniversary, but it seems that logo will be trumped on the jersey this season. Perhaps they could change it after the All-Star break?
If you've made it this far into this post, you're clearly the kind of person who will be interested in the following minutia. I'm talking about the breakdown of what jerseys were handed out by teams to their draftees.
- 21 teams gave colorful home jerseys to their draftees, 1 of which was seen for the first time (Florida).
- 7 teams gave white road jerseys to their draftees (Buffalo, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Nashville San Jose and Vancouver), 3 of which were unveiled at the same time (Edmonton, Los Angeles and Nashville).
- 6 teams gave jerseys that have never been used in a game before, one of which will never be used in a game (Winnipeg).
- And 1 team gave an alternate jersey to its draftee. And that would be Minnesota. Perhaps a privilege of being host of this year's festivities.
I hope that answers all of the jersey- and logo-related questions you had about this year's draft. If it doesn't ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.
Reader Comments (50)
awesome update! thank you, i love this news - and as a die hard OILERS fan i am completely pumped to see full on orange/blue back. I hate the red/copper/navy and hope the "3rd' goes away forever too.
One little thing - the Kings black jersey doesn't have waist stripes, the white version does... weird. I wonder if they change the black one to add stripes??
amazing job, thanks again.
Anyone else have issues with colors of the new Panthers jersey not matching the colors in the logo?
I think it is just awful the Kings removed the purple. It is such an uncommon color that it is great to see in the league. It is nice to finally see some teams mix up the colors of the NHL because it really is getting boring. Everyone is starting to look the same
wow the hem on the kings? i love it
Great change for the Preds. I like it a lot and it's innovative regarding all the other NHL sweaters. Cat's jersey is missing subtles lines as said earlier. Can't wait to see WPG stuff!
Oilers - √ -- Classic is always solid
Panthers - √ -- I like the red
Lightning - √ -- Basic isn't bad
Preds - X -- Piping running down the body of the jersey...don't like it - I do like the additional amount of yellow though
Kings - √ -- Like that the piping does run down sleeve instead of the body - Agreed about the purple
Do you think the Panthers' away jerseys will lose their piping to match the new home sweaters?
i like the kings, oilers and preds jerseys. i'm not a fan of the panthers red one, its pretty disappointing that they just used the same template as their other two lame jerseys
Great recap. I as well am disappointed at how dark the new Tampa jerseys are. If you look at the cover of the new EA Sports NHL 12, the get-up Stamkos is wearing is a lot lighter, and looks better in my opinion.
So does this mean that the Kings' home black is getting modified to include proper waist stripes like the new roads?
@Gibby Panthers jerseys have always looked that way. If they wanted the jersey colors to match the logo we'd end up with a barrage of colors like Atlanta had.
Tampa Bay Maple Leafs for sure now. Come on Tampa get your own colours! The Panthers jersey looks good with red and without piping but it does look boring. Bring in some horizontal stripes at the bottom of the jersey. The Oilers jersey is retro, nuff said. The Kings jersey is really bland and boring. Too much white on the away jersey. The predators jersey has grown on me though again would look so much better without the piping.
Love the Panthers new jersey, but I agree gold piping between the shoulder and body would have been great. Lightning jerseys are awesome, I like the color even if the Maple Leaves have it also.
Nashvilles highlighter yellow (okay gold) home jerseys are pretty cool, might get a headache watching these jerseys skate around the ice though. Kings is nice, Oilers awesome, and personally I think those NHL jerseys are damn cool
NO PIPING ON THE PANTHERS WOOO
i wish the kinds would still have purple, those are cool. they arent terrible. but i HATE the piping
Winnipeg should keep that as a third jersey
Did anybody else notice that the black NHL jersey handed out by Winnipeg was actually a practice jersey?
LOL! Sometimes I have to wonder if Icethetics has the largest following of people with weak constitutions. I can't believe how many times I've read that a mere jersey color can cause someone to vomit uncontrollably or become overwhelmed by a debilitating headache. It's just incredible.
Either that, or these people are full of it. Hmm, which is it?
I was kidding about the headache, it's a beautiful bright color :P
But no purple in the Kings jerseys? faints heh
I wonder if the Kings will update their old alternate jersey so the stripes match the new road jersey...
I don't understand the Oilers collars. The colors are nice, but the lame collars look unfinished and kind of mess up the final product.
As a Kings fan, I'm glad they ditched purple. I didn't like wearing my purple and silver glitter jerseys around in public. I just wish they used the crown still instead of that banner logo.
The lines on Florida's sleeves are disappointing. They would look better if they wrapped all the way around the arms.
The lack of waist stripes in the NHL has caused me to have a mild stroke...the LA Kings are well aware of this and are looking to aid me on my road to recovery.
I love the Oilers full vintage look like the majority of jersey fans
Im just so glad the panthers have a red jersey again without the stupid piping however i agree with you Chris the rbk edge cut off stripes have to go, whats the problem with stripes that go completely around the sleeves lol
Preds are so different i likem i kinda wish the primary logo woulda stayed somewhat the same but the guitar strings are sick and adds a nice touch to the city.
Bolts, Im not a huge fan of em but theyre not horrible. i just cnt stand how much they resemble the leafs and like many of you i wish they woulda been the lighter blue they looked excellent on the cover of NHL12. I was so glad they added a black outline around the numbers/letters makes them stand out more and the bolts on the pants were a must! and look very good
I dont like anything about the kings, i think theyre horrible. they look like a skeleton Halloween outfit with those black stripes going down (lol i dnt know that just what I see) but the whole design is horrible and eliminating those very rich and vibrant purple jerseys was a huge mistake. Im a flyers fan and was about to buy a purple but not anymore.
The Jets, I"m so happy theyre back and CAN'T wait to see their logos/colors/and the jersey. I like that its red white and blue b/c thats been their colors and thts what theyve been known for. Im not a big fan of all the red and boaring colors in the NHL i wana see more green and purple myself (so glad the preds went with something diff,yellow), but saying you wana see diff colors on the jets would be like saying the flyers should change their colors to teal and purple or something, it just wouldnt look right lol
Anyway im happy how teams are going back to their roots and others are trying something different, i just hope the Stars green is somewhat oldschool and very nice.
I am a Thrashers Fan c. 1999-2011 (they introduced me to hockey at the age of 11). Yes it sucks the team left because I won't be able to see NHL level hockey as easily as I used to, but I am excited that the team left and will be in an atmosphere that comprises of a full arena each night and a city that, "erupted into games of street hockey" when it was announced a NHL team would be coming back to the city.
Besides, the way I see it, they're still my guys on the ice, just in a different location, with a new name, and different sweaters. Speaking of sweaters, i was hoping for possibly a play on the old Thrashers Maroons and Blues (the ones with the T-bird logo). Use that color scheme, I mean it DOES belong to that franchise now (all the former Thrasher colors/logos/etc). If they swap up the colors, they could use two-three of the Thrashers... Let's be honest, Atlanta had some unique sweaters, which was both good/bad... mostly bad. But they did have a great color scheme that just couldn't be locked down to something simplified.
I'm expecting something familiar in terms of a logo (I think they might be removing something from the old logo to bring it up to the times, or just retweak it to give it a new, but familiar look). As for the colors, well you said it, but I'm hoping for a Maroon and Blue scheme, with the Maroon being the primary. As for stripes/etc, I'm hoping for dual/tri color sleeves and the same pattern on the waist (think like the Islanders jerseys).
Regardless, I'm pumped for my new team (yes, since mine doesn't exist anymore I just stuck with my players), so now I'm a Winnipeg Jets fan c. 2011-????.
OILERS - awesome
PANTHERS - what a HUGE disappointment, I hate that ugly template. Should have been the original red jersey
JETS - can't wait to see that logo and uni set
LIGHTNING - growing on me, but when I see them I still think - "I hate the leafs" and "I want a gatorade, I wonder why?"
PREDS - LOVE THOSE, good job on the gold! The collar looks cool. Definitely adding a gold Fisher #12 to my collection
KINGS - meh... don't hate it, nothing to love about it though
And I was kinda hoping the sens might dish out the new third, but I'm not surprised they didn't...
Thanks for your hard work Chris :)
Can you imagine the back and forth conversation in Florida?
Years of complaining about about the piping and Bettman Stripes...
"Screw it, get rid of all of them."
"Sir, they're saying they want the piping back, over the shoulders."
"Oh for godsake, you can't please these people."
Those Panthers jerseys look pretty awful. There really was nothing wrong with the piping on the other ones, the new design really wouldn't have hurt if it was the same template with the main colour red. I'm disappointed to see the shoulder piping go all the way down, unlike the original red jerseys. Very disappointed but it's true that it's not the end of the world. They should have kept it simpler. I also dislike the shade of red they chose. It's too bright, it seems.
Those kings jerseys look sharp though. A nice reversal of colours is all you need, no need to reinvent the wheel.
All the Oilers need is to get rid of their current blue/copper alternate and make an Edge-fied version of their pre-lockout sprocket/metal oil drop alternate jersey and then they'll have one of the top 5 uniform sets in the NHL.
So there won't be a black version of the Kings new road jersey to be used at home? But the current third dosen't have a wais stripe, it's not making sense.
Oilers: Love the jersey, nothing to complain about there, hope it'll stick around for decades.
Panthers: The elbow striping should've gone all the way around. Besides that, I really like it. Clean, simple design.
Bolts: The jersey haven't grown on me since it was introduced, it needs more black since it looks too much as Leafs, as others have said.
Predators: I like it, even think the piping works on it. Without that, it would've been too simple. Also, I think the "guitar strings" are thinner than on the previous images. Which is a good thing since they're not known för their 6-stringed basses...
LA: Like it, now when Lightning have gone to a Leafs theme, their combo of black, gray and white is unique in the NHL, so no need for purple. Basically, both this one and the purple & gold ones are unique in terms of colouring. Like the striping too.
And really looking forward to the Jets new logo & jerserys, they've done everything right so far, so I hope it looks good.
For all those Kings fans who are mourning the loss of purple (which i do love), don't forget that our old home jerseys will become our new thirds (and they have purple) and our retro purple/gold jerseys will return for the Legends nights (there were 4 of them last season). So you're probably gonna see the lovely purple on our team for 10-15 games of the year
Pains me to admit, but I'm coming around on those Preds jerseys. They actually look pretty sharp. Florida too has made a lazy switch into a winner. What a difference removing the piping and changing to red makes. Very impressive.
The Kings... meh. Whatever. Should have gone purple & gold.
Edmonton knocked it out of the park. Gorgeous.
Now let's hope Winnipeg doesn't screw the pooch.
Why is it that original 6 teams' jerseys are allowed to violate all the rules to which newer teams must adhere? The Blackhawks logo is woefully mismatchedby the jersey colours yet people consistently rate it the number one jersey in hockey.
The same reason every time a modern team has a modern-looking sweater, everyone complains that it looks too modern and dated, but if they use a vintage-style sweater, everyone complains that they can't wear sweaters like that, they haven't been around long enough.
I'm really glad to see Nashville give us a color we weren't already seeing. The league needs more of that, not more blue-red-and-white Winnipeg jerseys. Maybe Winnipeg should take over the purple the Kings ditched - is anyone in any North American major league wearing purple-red-and-white these days?
Oilers: excellent except for that pair of panties around the neck. So glad that dated copper and blue is done with. This is what the Oilers should look like.
Florida: awful. Jsut awful. They finally came to their senses but took it to a completely wrong place. Why oh why can they not just go back to something SIMILAR to their first uniforms?
Tampa: meh. That team will never get it right. They win a cup in another uniform yet they try to look exactly like the Leafs. No one will ever let up about that comparison either. They need their OWN identity.
Nashville better but I still wanted their third jersey and loved the white version.
LA: slightly better but I hate that pencil logo. Just put the dang crown on that uniform and bring the purple inaugural jersey as the third.
The only thing that would have made the Preds' jerseys even better is if the home jersey was blue and the ROAD jersey was yellow. Sometime in the late '90s, the NHL made the decision that yellow would be considered a color, and that has forced every team to have a white road jersey. I think we should go back to how it was in the early '80s when the Canucks had a black jersey and a yellow jersey (that functioned the same as every other team's white jersey).
For the last several years, the Oilers and Islanders keep schizophrenically going back and forth between straight-up vintage jerseys (to appease the traditionalists) and really bizarre new jerseys (to please... well, I'm not really sure). Heck, the Isles have been doing it ever since the Fishsticks jerseys. Both of those teams need to come up with a jersey set that is fresh and different but still pays homage to their past and doesn't look completely ridiculous - something like what the Sabres have done. The Oilers could even have an orange third jersey to commemorate their original WHA uniforms.
Interesting that both of those teams are blue and orange, but whatever... :-P
Edmonton- PERFECT! Finally nailed it.
Florida- The elbow stripes should go complesely around the sleves and I think it would look better with waist stripes.
Tampa-They look too much like the Leafs. I think getting rid of black was a mistake.
Nashville-Sorta disappointed. I don't like the vertical piping.
LA-Great but with the waist stripes they don't match the blacks. Woulda liked to see the purple retros as alternate though.
I love the Nashville shirt, I know I've a gripe with the piping on the front of the shirt, but hey it's still one of the, if not the best shirt in the league right now.
Florida is good, nice to see them go back to original colours, even if it's a different shade. I agree the reebok elbow stripes just don't work though.
Kings, is simple clean and nice.
Tampa is a jump to far, I think they've tried to hard. It's a nice looking shirt, but it's just not Tampa if you know what I mean? They are a newish team, and to go with a lace collar, I think that throws it for me.
Edmonton, my team... At last we get rid of one of the edge jerseys. I never liked the revamped jerseys, and so this return to how we should look is welcomed. However, miy gripe as with someone else on who has passed comment, is the neck. The NHL badge on the blue, just donesn't sit with me. Couldn't we find a better place for the badge and get rid of the blue? If that were to happen it's perfection.
Reebok hasat last after many years of trying, has finally started to produce nice hockey shirts. I don't know if they've brought in new designers or what, but keep who ever it is on hockey and don't let them leave, certainly till every team has had a new jersey from tehm
The Kings should really have gone back to the retro purple and gold full-time. Those look amazing on the ice.
I wish the league would go back to WHITE for the home team and COLOR for the road team. Then we would get to see all the other teams colors as they visited. As it is now we see our Home jersey then a bunch of white jerseys all season.
The Preds jersey is growing on me ... will buy the White. Hopefully the "gold" will be cool enough for me to add one as well. Dad will get the free one as I only buy authentics.
For those who are upset/angered about the sleeve stripes on the Florida jersey, allow me to remind you all that this isn't an RBK innovation. The Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars from 1991-9 had their away jersey with similar stripes on their sleeves. I thought it made for one of the best jerseys in the League. I'd actually like to see Dallas go back to those, but their current ones are really sharp. Just add tail stripes, and you have an epic win.
I don't like the white Preds jersey at all, way too busy. Love the Oilers except the collar. They need to fix that! I'm looking forward to the Jets' jersey. I don't think they should have gone with the Jets' name, but my opinion doesn't matter, only the Winnipeg fans, and they were pretty clear.
Loving the Preds' new duds!
Love the Oilers jersey, and the interesting collar style. More and more pressure to complete my "jerseys of Canada" collection...much to the chagrin of my wife.
I was disappointed that Nashville got rid of one of the features I liked most about the redesign, however minor, in the little "Nashville" written on the top left corner of the body (front of the shoulder?).
The Panthers jersey does nothing for me. It's not bad, just meh to me.
I go back and forth on the Tampa Bay jersey. It's simple and classy, which is much better than ugly, but I worry the logo doesn't stand out enough. I'm really hoping to get to the Jan 5 Tampa vs Ottawa game and see it on the ice first hand (seeing Marty, Stamkos, and Lecav sure wouldn't suck either. Also I had difficulty determining which order to list their names in...)
LA - hate the piping from the elbow down. Not a fan of this logo.
On patches and such:
I like the NY anniversary patch, but it's a bit big. Back when Montreal had their 100 year patches, I was VERY partial to the classy, simple "swirly" 100 years they put on the throwback jerseys, and the regular jerseys in the second year, rather than the blocky "100" they put in the first year. So maybe I don't like huge and blocky...which doesn't explain my love for:
The Sens' 20th anniversary patch (maybe big is okay if it's pointy and circular rather than blocky?). I was really hoping for a Sens jersey with a 20th anniversary patch AND an All-star game patch (one of them on a shoulder, of course). Oh well. I like the all-star patch but it's pretty big there. I plan on getting one of the new "O" jerseys if they don't end up sucking, so hopefully it'll look a bit better on black.
@Chris: do you have any idea what's going on with the Panthers' road and third jerseys? The current road jersey seems to fit this template and the JetBlue third jerseys don't really seem to fit at all. Is there a chance they could keep their current road jerseys and make the blue home jerseys the new third?
@Wingnut- I haven't heard anything on road jerseys, but the alternate jerseys will be gone after this season. The Panthers front office hates the powder blue jerseys but has to wear them for another season due to contract obligations with Jet Blue and Reebok.
oh ok thanks andy. and i dont blame em; i dont like the JetBlue jerseys either
Chris, you do fantastic work covering these things. I am so grateful to have a sweet site like this to check out the awesome jersey news.
The jerseys that were unveiled were fantastic, save for the Kings one. I don't like the black one they have and dislike the white one even more.
The Panthers is amazing. What a great colour scheme. I love how it really 'pops'
The Oilers jersey looks great too, glad to see they will get rid of those terrible pajama jerseys they had.
I really really like the new Nashville digs. The post with the 'supposed' jerseys got me really interested. I really liked their old ones, but am really loving these new ones.
I can't wait to see the new Jets jerseys. Mark Chipman has said that they are going to have a whole new colour scheme and logo. I have a great feeling about it and that people will be very happy with it, even though it wont be the original. Who knows, maybe what he is saying is a red herring, kind of like what happened with the name. They may fold to the public outcry again. Either way, I expect to be happy with what they come out with!
The NHL needs to abandon the mindset that one team needs to wear white in every game - this is no longer necessary. We're living in an 3D HD world and this rule is living in a world where anyone that has a TV has a black and white one. What is wrong with a Wings/Sharks game where the Sharks are in their black thirds and the Wings in their red jerseys? The Flyers in their orange jerseys versus the Rangers in their blues? The system seems to work pretty well in soccer. Nominate a home jersey before the season, and all teams traveling to your building simply have to bring a jersey that does not clash with the home side's. What's more, this would help force teams to use 3rd jerseys for what they're actually supposed to be used for - to test new, inventive designs, not for the way they've been used in the last few years, as a way to stick some retro jersey in to appease overly-nostalgic fans. If your team's retro jersey is better than their normal jerseys, then go back to wearing the retro ones, and use the third jersey for something new.
I really liked what all the teams did (well these teams)
Oilers look fabulous
Panthers jerseys looked boring at first, but that red is just so vivid and it makes the jersey sooooo much better than the dark blue did
I dont understand how Tampa all of a sudden has this dark blue. Every picture ive seen of that jersey had this really nice bright blue. Hopefully its just odd lighting in the arena...but i doubt it
Nashville definitely is going to look awesome in their golds, even the bit of gold on the road looks sweet
LA's jersey is nice, but ever since they debuted that banner logo, it just never looked right on a jersey. I think eventually they should go with the black and white crown logo(which is found all over their website) on these jerseys
Oh yeah, and im glad Winnipeg went with Jets, cant wait to see the new unis and logo
Edmonton: Beauty. The way the Oilers are supposed to look. Still miss their shoulder "rigger" logo from a few years back, however.
Florida: Ugh. Looks like a paint factory exploded, the colours in the Panther crest don't even match the rest of the sweater.
Winnipeg: No surprise that they'll reincarnate the Jets, hopefully their sweaters add something (silver?) to the Blue and Red.
Tampa: Beauty. Clean, neat, traditional looking sweater.
Nashville: Growing on me, can do without the piping and the extra striping on the collar.
LA: Beauty. Love the silver and black, purple is not meant to be worn in a hockey rink.
the panthers jersey is garbage for 1 reason:
their jersey doesn't even match their logo. if you're going with that design then either remove the white outline from the panther, change the gold in the panther to the yellow, or add some gold and white into the jersey design.