Behold the Gold: Preds Unveil Jersey
Wednesday · Jul 13 · 2011 | 10:34 PM PDT
Predators unveil new home jersey / Predators
The Nashville Predators became the first team in 21 years to use a solid yellow primary sweater as they unveiled their new home uniform today.
(For the record, it was the Vancouver Canucks in 1989 to do it last. But then they've worn pretty much every color at this point.)
Here's a slick promotional photo.
The Predators revealed the new look Wednesday evening, literally, on the side of a skyscraper, at their Skate of the Union event. They also launched the Behold the Gold marketing campaign which is obviously meant to draw attention to the new brightly-colored jersey.
Here on the blog, we got our first look at it when it was leaked back in June. It's basically the same as that original image save for a minor detail or two. And it looks just as incredible as it did then.
Reaction was largely positive as we've been presented with a clean, solid design and bright colors you don't often see in the NHL. These are all good things and should be welcomed with open arms.
I give it three thumbs up (I'm going to need to borrow somebody's thumb) for standing out in a sea of sameness in this league. I'm thrilled to see them drop the blue jersey — which is becoming overused. I'd say it's one less we'll see in the NHL next season but then I'm betting on a blue sweater from the Winnipeg Jets, whenever that comes.
Enough chatter from me. I'll leave you with a collage of photos from Smashville 24/7. Also don't forget to check out photos tweeted by Preds winger Blake Geoffrion and of course, the Predators themselves.
Predators unveil their new home uniform for 2011-12 / Smashville 24/7
And just to be thorough, here's another look at the road jersey which was unveiled on Draft Day, June 24. These photos were posted to the Predators' official Facebook page.
New road jersey debuted on Draft Day / Predators
I like the details, including the keyboard inside the collar and the guitar strings across the numbers. This is a very musically-themed uniform set and it doesn't look minor league. A tough task, but they've pulled it off. I almost want one. (But my Bolts have two new sweaters coming out soon.)
Reader Comments (52)
What I'm most curious about is if the "guitar strings" are screened on as a one layer twill. From looking at Blake Geoffrion's #5, I'm betting it is, and that's a sad thing when teams are forced to go to one layer cresting. This forces people to buy from places like NHL.com where they cheap out when it comes to multiple layer cresting jobs and just go single layer. Most honest "aftermarket" cresters won't be able to do this justice, which is actually unfortunate, but maybe this will be harder for the counterfeit jersey marketers to copy, too.
On the other hand, I do like the concept of the "guitar strings/stripes" and especially the piano collar! This is surprisingly sharp and has lots of character. Well done, Nashville!
I'm a Wings fan and I can't wait to buy one of these, they're awesome!
Not a fan of the waist stripes on the Gold set or the strings through the numbers. I like the White set far better. All in all, better than what they've had.
the color choice is bold..and admirable. I'm glad to see a team going the polar opposite of Red and Black. Overal, it a good jersey, but I see two issue with it.
1. The weird font #'s: Looking at the #'s on a sample jersey is one thing, but are you going to be able to read them when the jersey is being worn by a players skating 20 MPH on the ice?
2. The vertical piping and the extra accent colors below the collar. Are they going to interfere with the "C", "A" or any other jersey patch. I have always found it annoying when a patch or letter is placed on top of a stripe or piping line (see the previous Panthers jersey)
I wish they would run the piping into the arm pit of the jersey and just not all the way down - If you look at the "Behold the Gold" banner it almost looks like it does that and would look like just a highlight and better - The "halo" doesn't look bad at all and ads a nice color contrast on the front and back - I did like the original placement of the "Nashville" wording but thinking about it it would have just crammed up the area if they added a patch...good call
Unfortunately I have to be negative here. I hate it!!
It's hard for me to point out why, but I think it is mostly to do with the vertical stripes.
I saw a yellow Nashville concept on this site recently that kicked ass on anything else I have seen including this poor design.
Oh well, I am guessing I will be in the minority here in my dislike which is no problem for me. I am glad that they are using a unique color in yellow, but I just don't like how it has been implemented. I do love the simplified logo though.
I must say I am a fan of their new threads. I didn't really like their old ones. I found the colours made the logo and the jersey look busier than it had to be. I LOVE the fact that Nashville has not opted into the stupid Chest numbers that some teams have started using like the Islanders, Sabres and yes the Lightning. There is no need for a jersey number on the front in my opinion. Nashville definitely did right with their jerseys.
The Whites are starting to grow on me a little, but those Yellow's are the ugliest jersey in the NHL today.
Those jerseys are amazing. Top5 in the NHL.
Ugh...hideous. I'm all for color but thay gold is aweful. And the piping? C'mon already, I have yet to see ONE jersey who looked good with that piping. Keyboard collar, guitar string numbers, and secondary aer pretty cool, otherwise, EPIC FAIL.
I LOVE IT!
wait, they're getting rid of the 3rd jersey? i thought that was pretty sharp, o well. also, the only thing that bothers me about the home set is the colors on the bottom hem and the colors on the pants shell don't quite match. i hope it's only an illusion from the photo
Interesting that when the Canucks last wore gold jerseys in the 80's it was in place of a white jersey, whereas Nashville is replacing their dark jersey.
Thinking off the top of my head, other pro teams to wear gold include the Kings, Bruins, Golden Seals, Pirates, Athletics, and Lakers. Of those, only the Bruins and A's used gold jerseys as their dark jerseys - and at one time or another I believe they were also used in place of their white jerseys.
Interesting that the Reebok word mark is absent from both of these redesigned sweaters. I wonder if the vector will be on the finished product when it becomes available for sale?
Any idea why those pictures show the Reebok 'logo' on the shoulders but Geoffrion's had the word mark?
Logo looks like it go butchered by an intern learning Adobe Illustrator and not very imaginative but whatever. About 5 Preds players were wearing it and it looks better in person. Plus you can eat a hot dog and not worry about getting mustard on yourself.
Overall I welcome it and like it, but the one thing I'm not sure of is the bottom part of the jersey where the stripe usually is. It isn't a stripe, but the rest of the jersey just continues as blue. It might look a bit off with the blue pants, blending in to kind of look like they are wearing short jerseys. I could be wrong. I just would have liked a traditional stripe. SOme of these expansion teams always have something that just seems off. Like, why don't the Ducks just give up on that angled stripe?? Tampa Bay seems to have figured it out, even though they look way too much like the Leafs.
Anyone else see Mitsubishi in their shoulder patch?
Love their jersey. Definitely sets them apart from the crowd without being overly gimmicky with their musical theme.
nice. i like them for the most part
but what are they going to do if the play has a long name? It doesnt look like there is a nameplate for the letters, and not every name is going to fit between the vertical piping on the back
(get rid of all piping)
Making a jersey stand out from the crowd is not necessarily a positive thing. Neon green or pink would stand out too. Yellow as the base color is a terrible choice, and so are all the honky-tonk music symbols.
SO AWESOME.
Looks too Boston Bruin'ny to me.
I'm not sure if I like the piano keys or not. I like the idea of having them and it is a nice nod to Nashville's music, but seeing them on a hockey sweater is a little strange.
love the gold. hate the STUPID piping.
Heard from one of the Preds people last night that the keyboard inside the collar is on the authentic jersey ONLY. The only reason Vancouver switched from white to gold/yellow was because teams wore white at the time, and that's the case here, just replacing the home jersey. These pics don't seem to do them the justice, they look VERY good in person, and to answer Steve's question about the C and A, it does bleed over into the blue on the front a bit. I have several pics on my phone that show some of the details of the jersey.
All in all a good way to unveil the jersey, definitely different than the usual press conference, or just having players model it at a fan event..Don't know of many teams that announce it on the front of the tallest building in the state!
Not bad, though they really need to change the logo to get rid of the snot trail. Just simply changing it to have the yellow streak start at the cheek of the cat would make it infinitely better.
i like the simplified update. much more classy. still with the parallelogram? no REEBOK?
I'm anxious to see how the other numbers are going to look with the guitar strings. Love the jerseys.
Nice to see a Dragonball show up on a jersey. FINALLY.
Like the white version a lot more than the pure gold, but they're both good. I still find the piano behind the neck hilarious. I'd love to see an interview with the guy who sold that idea.
On shop.nhl.com, they have the white Preds jersey available. It has the "reebok" word mark on it, rather than the vector. Also, I played with the customizing function to see how the other numbers looked; I must say, they are all pretty legible. Overall, I think this is a great new look for the Preds.
It's ok I guess, but I'm not loving it. Nice to see yellow used as a primary color but I think it would look a lot better with more traditional stripes/numbering. As has been mentioned numerous times, the piping really needs to go. Also think the piano collar is very hokey in a minor league kind of way but I guess it's not a big deal as no one will see it anyway. And just to clarify an earlier comment by Bryan - the Islanders current jerseys do not have numbers on their chest, but their previous ones did.
For Steve and Brian,
in my own opinion, I think for the C and A, they should do like the Red Wings and put it on the other side(left side if your viewpoint is in front of the jersey) so there would have more space for the letter, that way it will only be on the yellow or white depending if you are wearing the home or away jersey.
Easily the ugliest sweaters in the NHL. Second ugliest only to Vancouver's old sweaters from years back. I would be embarrassed to wear something so hideous. I think the new Tampa sweaters are a complete copy of Toronto's. No originality whatsoever. It's sad to see these teams try to fix something that doesn't need fixing. In the end, they've ruined a good thing!
I despise the logo on its own, but those jerseys are really sweet.
I must admit... I really like these. In fact, I'd say these are a better use of the St. Louis template than even St. Louis!
Anybody have any thoughts as to why they're only using the guitar pick on one shoulder? Am I the only one that finds this awkward looking?
I too wonder about the secondary (guitar pick) logo only on one shoulder. Wondering if maybe they put a flag on the opposite similar to Calgary ... player's national flag. That would be cool ... not sure having only one secondary page works otherwise. Not a big fan of the secondary because I really dig the skull logo. I was at the event last night and the jersey look incredible in person ... much better than the photos. Prior to last night I was very skeptical about the gold; but, I am now sold ... I will buy one as soon as authentics are available.
With the exception of the numerals and the striping, a very sharp-looking jersey. Being a traditionalist, I am one of several people who loves yellow in sports, especially hockey. However, yellow-gold should be the light jersey and blue being the dark jersey for the Predators' set.
They're alright I guess. I like the colour combo. The piano collar is kinda weird but you won't see it on the ice. I could also do without the guitar strings. The thing that really ruins them is the vertical stripes. If they got rid of those, these would be sick jerseys, especially the white ones. Still a huge improvement over their last ones, but the vertical stripes ruin an otherwise great design.
@Drewski after seeing my Flames get covered in more patches than a Girl Guide these past few years, I find the single shoulder patch to be a welcome sight. Not only is the jersey less cluttered, but they'll have some room when the need arises (anniversary patch, playoff patch, etc.).
There is so much to like about this design. I'd say the piping is my one complaint, but it's not as noticeable here as with other jerseys.
I also like the piano stripes, because they are fun and can be concealed when worn - but they'd look great on a hanger. I'd like to see other teams do something 'showy' with this part of the jersey. There could be many fun possibilities with that.
I'm a big fan of the white jersey, it's a bit busy but overall it looks solid. What I'm really having trouble with is the home jersey, when the initial pictures leaked it looked bright, bright yellow, and I thought they were laughable. But now that we've seen it's more of a Sabres gold, I like it a bit more. I'm not sure I'd ever buy the home one, but I applaud the Predators from straying away from this new fad of darker jersey colours, and I really love how they've made a bunch of Nashville/Tennessee tributes with the keyboard, guitar strings and rock & roll HOF patch. I think I'll grow to like them.
I love it, good primary color (yellow can be really ugly if you have the wrong tone, they have the right one), good design and great details. The pick logo is awesome as a secondary logo and the piping actually looks good when it's white on yellow. And the guitar strings on the numbers look great too, it's like the numbers on Buffalo's third, but good looking. Definately one of my new favourites.
like the new nashville sweaters. very sharp. only issue i have is the number font. would've preferred something more plain.
Looks great. It sorta looks sublimated in the pics. Can't wait to see it on the ice.
Wow, one of the sweetest looking new jerseys I have seen in a long time. The best part = no numbers on the front!!!
The yellow jersey is the ugliest jersey in the NHL. I would buy a Burger King Kings jersey over that piece of crap. The white one however is actually really really good.
I really don't care for these jerseys. I wish they would've made last season's 3rd the new home jersey and used the white version (that was sold to fans) on the road. Now we look like the Blues. It even looks like the St. Louis Arch is going through the logo. Also, the shorts don't even look like they match the jersey. The only thing I really like about the jersey's are the numbers with the string going through them.
Oh well, maybe they will grow on me once I see them in person and see them on the ice.
just talked to leafs equipment guy Brian Papineau and he confirmed to me that the third jersey will be goin back to 67, the pant shell will have a two inch white stripe.
What do pianos and guitars have to do with a predator? If thay want do pull that sort of stuff, thay should change the name and logo to something other than the Predators. Pianos maybe. There's one "musical" team in this league already, the Blues (with a note for their logo).
I get that Nasville is some sort of music town, but ferocious sabretooth cat has no connection to pianos and guitars. So why name the team Predators in the first place? A shot and a miss (by a mile) by whoever was responsible for this if you ask me.