2013 NHL Season Preview
Tuesday · Jan 15 · 2013 | 1:44 PM PST
After a disappointing and annoyingly long delay, the new NHL season finally commences on Saturday night. So now would be as good a time as any for the Icethetics Season Preview.
Over the summer, we talked about what a boring year 2012-13 would be for uniform changes — with almost nothing new on the docket. Turns out the higher-ups may have done this on purpose considering how close we came to not having a season at all. But here we are. Let's take a look at what little will be changing for this shortened campaign.
What's In This Season?
Our last JerseyWatch 2012 update came in late August. And what were we most excited about? The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2013 NHL Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, of course! Those outdoor games always bring awesome new retro-inspired sweaters. But then the NHL went and canceled the whole thing.
How about the 2013 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus? Those All-Star sweaters are starting to go a bit stale after two years. Maybe we'd be treated to a brand new set? Nope. That was canceled too.
That just leaves the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are expected to bring their third jersey up to date with new shoulder patches. After introducing their new logos and uniforms last season, the club ran out of time to address the outdated features of the alternate. According to Raw Charge, the team says that will be addressed this year.
In theory, it'll look a little something like this (above). So basically, our biggest uniform change of the season will be a shoulder patch. And an existing one at that. Looks like all of us jersey geeks will actually be forced to focus on the games this season — which is good, since there will only be 48 of them.
What's Out This Season?
You want a longer list? The number of sweaters being retired effective this year is higher than it's been since the Reebok jersey massacre of 2007. Granted, it's just three, but still. Lately, NHL teams have been more interested in adding jerseys than deleting them.
- Buffalo Sabres third jersey — It was launched to mark the franchise's 40th birthday. But after just two years, it will live on only in the history books.
- Edmonton Oilers third jersey — This sweater has a sordid past and very few of us will be sad to see it go. Its significant lack of striping and bland color scheme made it instantly hated as a home jersey. When the Oilers came to their senses and brought back their classic colors, this became the alternate. Two years later, we say good riddance.
- Florida Panthers third jersey — JetBlue got their money's worth, but no one else did. The Panthers were never meant to be blue and they definitely weren't meant to be powder blue. The Cats brought back the red last season and wrapped things up with this alternate.
Goodbye to these three alternate uniforms.
May we never see you on the ice again. As some misguided future throwback or otherwise.
Third Jerseys in a Shortened Season
One question I've seen a few times in going through the last week of emails has to do with how often teams will wear their alternate jerseys this season — that is, if they still have them. Typically, team's wear them 12-15 times during an 82-game season. My guess is that, with just 48 games this year, we might expect to see them 7-9 times each. Better than nothing, right?
Looking Ahead
If this lack of jersey news has you feeling down, fret not. I have a hunch this summer will be much more fruitful. We already know we're getting new stuff from Dallas and Minnesota in 2013-14. And I happen to know there will be a few surprises in store that haven't yet been reported.
Stay tuned for the first edition of NHL JerseyWatch 2013 coming this week!
Reader Comments (14)
Too bad the Islanders didn't retire their awful third jersey as well.
The NHL is going back to HOME team wear WHITE?? My Pens are getting new Black/Gold uniforms (hate the current home/away) and please NO MORE BLUE for the Pens!
Rough grammar there, but no, I've heard of no plans of the league switching back to home whites nor will Pittsburgh have any new uniforms this year. And believe me, 91Pens92, we know you don't like the Penguins in blue. We know you don't like the current uniforms. We know you want 1991 and 1992 back but until time travel is invented... Anyway, we know. Really. (I feel like this is the only thing you ever have to say in your comments.)
Chris:
Have you heard anything about the Blue Jackets either dumping their current third for a new one OR retiring their current home and roads in favor of a new branding? I've read that on a Blue Jackets board online, but not sure how credible it is....Whoever posted it claimed that Steve Mason was the source for this info. Any thoughts?
Call me crazy, but I liked that Buffalo throwback. Not sad to see the others go.
How about the 1996 Robo Pens Jersey... To early for that throwback? How about the yellow sweater from the 80's or the diagonal Pittsburgh text jersey, my 2 personal faves.
Hopefully the surprises not reported yet includes the Sharks getting new home, road, and 3rd jerseys next year
The Buffalo third grew on me... but maybe in a couple of years they'll come up with something better. Definitely glad to see the end of the Oilers' misbegotten mess of a jersey - the sleeve stripe thing always pissed me off. You should only have interrupted stripes if you're putting the sleeve numbers in that space (e.g. Minnesota/Dallas 1991-98 black jerseys). Florida at least has a contrasting sleeve panel (on their regular jerseys) so the interruption isn't so jarring. (Good riddance to the JetBlue jerseys, by the way.)
On the plus side, at least the Toronto-Detroit Winter Classic at the Big House will be played next year, so we'll eventually get to see those unis. The down side is that I'm still dreading the probability of the Wings using that despicable fake-aging "color". (It still somewhat burns that I would've been at that game had they played it, though...)
By the way, gotta say, Chris, I'm liking the new registration system!
if you go to the lightning's team shop, on the jersey's page they show two different versions of their alts. One of them doesn't have piping nor appears to have shoulder patch's. Also the reebok logo on the back and sleeves is different. It's actually been on the site for some time now.
The Sabres' third jersey was one of my favorite looks in the league. It connected to the history of Buffalo hockey with the old Bisons' text, and brought back the bright colors of the 1970s onto the ice. It was one of the best in the league: Different from the primary jerseys, but still connected to the overall "feel" of the team. I say may we see you again sometime!
As to the other two third jerseys, may you rot in the landfill, where you belong!
I'm bummed to see the Buffalo thirds go away. I may have been the only one that actually loved them! There was nothing bad about the back of those things. Delicious.
Nothing crazy about liking that Buffalo third jersey. Those are just plain cool. I'd have a hard time not buying one if I was a Sabres fan.
The sens will wear their heritage jersey 7 times this season, all at home.
I loved the Buffalo throwbacks too. The only thing that bothered about them was the back. I always complained about Philly's use of mismatched nameplates and I wasn't about to embrace them just because my own team adopted them for their new jerseys. I also thought the striping on the numbers was odd. That's why MY throwback has no name or numbers lol.
But as for the rest of the jersey, and I'm going to agree heavily with Jeff, I absolutely loved it. The bright colors, the Buffalo Bisons script, and even the laced collar made it great. The 1970 logo was also nicely placed and was a good nod to the team's anniversary without being specific about 40 years. Lots of teams are making these decade patches that have no relevance after that year but by just using their inaugural season, Buffalo's patch could still work today. I'm happy to have this jersey in my collection and I'm sad to see it leave the ice.
BTW, I live in Florida and I do NOT feel the same about the Panthers' former thirds. Good riddance!