Sabres and Stars Plan Looks for 2013
Tuesday · Sep 4 · 2012 | 9:55 AM PDTWhile the owners and players debate whether there will even be an NHL season in 2012, a couple of teams are already looking ahead to 2013 as they plan for new uniforms.
They may not seem like the most likely source of NHL jersey news, but Business First of Buffalo is reporting that the Buffalo Sabres have a new third jersey in the works for the 2013-14 season.
The bigger story was about a real estate deal involving the team acquiring new land near their arena, but ended on this note:
Ted Black, Sabres' president, confirmed that more than HARBORCenter will be debuting during the 2013-2014 season.
Black said he expects the team to unveil a new, third jersey for the 2013-2014 season. Yes, it will be blue-and-gold and feature the team's beloved original logo. What else is on the jersey is still being determined.
The Sabres debuted a blue-and-gold third jersey two years ago as part of their 40th anniversary celebration. But after two seasons, it's been retired. Nice to hear the original logo will be coming back. What do you guys think we could expect for this new sweater?
Also in development for 2013-14 is an entirely new look for the Dallas Stars. When the ownership changed hands last year, the process of rebranding the team was put on hold. But it looks like it's back on course for next season. And there's a new report floating around.
This Stars update also comes by way of an unusual source — LAKings.com. In a web series called 4 on 4, "four writers answer the biggest questions surrounding hockey." And at a time when the possibility of a lockout could ruin the entire season, half of the "biggest questions" have to do with uniforms. Weird, I know.
Number 3 is, "Which teams have the best and worst jerseys in the league?" That alone could be worth a read for uniform geeks like us. But what's more interesting the answer given by Fear the Fin blogger Derek Tanabe.
The alternates Buffalo have rocked for two seasons now with the city name on the front look terrific too. As for worst, it's a tossup for me between the Stars sweaters that don't even have an appropriate color scheme or logo on the front and the new Dragonball-inspired Nashville sweaters. In both cases, the teams should really consider switching back to a pattern closer to what they were sporting at the beginning of the 2000's and I've heard rumblings that something along those lines is slated to happen in Dallas.
I have to scratch my head, though. Tanabe talks about the Sabres' alternate as though it's a current jersey when he should be talking about it in the past tense. So can we really trust what he's saying about the Stars?
Lots of people have gone on the record to talk about the redesign coming to Dallas, which may involve new logos as well as uniforms. TV color analyst Daryl Reaugh and Dallas Morning News writer Mike Heika have both talked about it and you've seen their quotes in previous editions of NHL JerseyWatch.
But if Tanabe is talking early 2000s, he must think the Stars are reconsidering the star-shaped jersey design. And we know Reebok has complained that a design like that isn't conducive to the Edge Uniform System. But you never know.
We'll keep an eye on both the Stars and the Sabres over the coming year. This summer has been a quiet one for uniform changes, but 2013 is already shaping up to be much more interesting.
Reader Comments (14)
If the Dallas Stars wish to go back to the star-shaped design the NHL/Reebok should offer its teams the option of using the Edge system or the old-school/loose-fitting design. Reebok has already gone back to using Air Knit instead of the other terrible material so why not offer up the old cut too? The NHL never should have tinkered with this anyway so it would be righting a serious wrong, IMO.
Well, let's face it.... if Dallas is getting new sweaters any time soon, it can't possibly get any worse than their current bland mehs. I'd even take a return of the Mooterus over what they have now.
Sabres new owner is old school. A die hard 70's sabre fan. The hope is to phase in the original jerseys of the 70's and 80's..thus making today's home and away the pit stained alternates
I like how two of the bloggers say Nashville has the worst jerseys in the league while a third says the Preds have the best jersey in the league. Also, the blogger who said Nashville's look "doesn't match the city" has no clue what he's talking about, as the city of Nashville has always loved the gold/mustard/yellow sweaters that the Preds have worn more than any of the white/navy looks. And the nickname fits, but I'm not going to copy and paste a Wikipedia article here to explain something most of us already know.
Anyway, I hope Dallas gets into some new uniforms and fast. The current ones just feel like placeholders while we wait on the team to unveil its home/road set (like what the Sherbrooke Phoenix had to wear during the preseason...but without a logo). I would love to see them re-adopt the North Stars color scheme and have some small tribute in the logo and/or jersey to the North Stars. Personally, I like their current logo - it's not uber-modern or really-traditional, but it's a nice simple look that went well with the awesome star-striped jerseys from a decade ago.
I'm also nervously-excited about a new Sabres jersey. The old alternate was very nice, and I really like the home/road set. The nervousness probably only comes from seeing what the Islanders did and remembering the Buffaslug. If they do an all-out traditional throwback third (like what the Calgary Flames have done), that would be awesome.
I notice the Sabres homepage has a lot of black infused into it. I really hope the team doesn't unveil a classic logo themed black uniform. Learn from the Mets...I mean Islanders.
Buffalo: I'm sure the new 3rd will be better than the anniversary sweater because you can't get much worse than that. For me, the Bisons jersey is right up there with SENS and Thrashers basketball.
Dallas: A full makeover can really rejuvenate the team and the fan base. I have an idea it might not be popular with some but how about this: The Minnesota Wild change their name to the North Stars (as it should be and besides, Wild is a ridiculous name although their logo is quite ingenious) and the Dallas Stars change their name to the Texas Lone Stars. Also, I would change the colors to blue and silver to match the Cowboys and the Mavericks. Some will say that the names are too similar but so are the Red Sox and White Sox. Then again, that argument can be easily shot down with the fact that those nicknames have been around for so long that it would be a sin to change the names. Just an idea.
dallas need a complete re-branding, new colors and new jersey designs, a complete break from the current uninspired and just so boring look.
I'm actually surprised that none of the bloggers mentioned Colorado in the worst jerseys section. It's a shame for the Avs, too, all they'd need to do is remove the piping and maybe bring back the blue mountain on the bottom of the sweater and they'd be among the best again.
For the love of god I hope the Stars go back to the star outline. Even an updated version of the ones we wore before the star outline would be awesome
The "Dragon Ball" is actually the logo of our state flag. Also it is just a shoulder patch. It is not a main logo or divisive mustard color.
Charlie, I beg to differ. Most Sabres fans and people in WNY really loved the anniversary sweater, me included. It paid homage to hockey's long history in Buffalo with the 'Bisons' script; and it honored the Sabres' past with the royal blue and gold stripes. IMO, it was the perfect compliment to one of the best unis in the NHL. (And don't freak out, people, I said "one of"!)
Chris,
I'm not sure what happened but I did not make that post about hating the Sabres anniversary sweater. I made the comment directly above it!
@ Guess Who,
I have echoed exactly the same ideas regarding the North Stars/Lone Stars idea. Unfortunately, on Chris Creamer's sportslogos forum, I had gotten flamed several times for suggesting that Dallas become the Lone Stars because the devil's advocates on that forum say that there is only one "Lone Star". Well, I countered with the argument that Minnesota is also known as the "North Star State".
However, I would still keep the Dallas identity just in case Houston ever gets a team. And while I think Cowboys navy and silver would look great on the team, I still like the idea of using a deeper green or keeping the black with kelly green as the primary.
As for the name itself, I have another idea: If the "Lone Stars" is considered a bad idea by others, I would go with "Texans" and go with the mooterus logo with its horns upright like the Chicago Bulls. Yes, the "Texans" name is used by Houston's NFL team, but remember this - Houston's previous NFL team had the same name as Edmonton's NHL team, the Oilers.
Overall, I totally agree with your post. I despise the name "Wild" just as much and would love to see the green and gold North Stars brand return to Minnesota.
From what I am hearing, The Stars are looking at the same color scheme as the Dallas Cowboys