Third Jerseys in the 2013 Playoffs
Friday · May 10 · 2013 | 2:41 AM PDT
There's been a lot of chatter on Twitter this week regarding the trio of teams that have opted to wear their third jerseys during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For those of you not on Twitter, I present this brief blog post.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild are all sporting their alternate uniforms when they play at home this postseason. It's certainly nothing as many teams have done it in recent years — the Sharks included. And the BlackArmor has served them well this year as they swept the Canucks.
For the Wild it was their first time in the playoffs since 2008. I say "was" because they were eliminated by the Blackhawks last night. And by the way, 2008 the only season since 1996 where no NHL team has had a third jersey. That was the inaugural season of Reebok Edge.
The Maple Leafs, I believe, have made a habit of sporting their thirds for the playoffs in recent years. Well, not "recent" as the last time they qualified was 2004. But between 1999 and 2004, their old white alternate got an extra workout in the postseason.
Should we read anything into these decisions? The Kings wore their black thirds in the 2010 and 2011 playoffs before making them their home uniform in 2011-12. But I wouldn't call that typical. The Sharks are supposedly making some changes in the fall but I doubt they'd drop the teal. And Minnesota is only looking at a new road sweater for now.
That said, I'm fairly sure the NHL only permits teams to use two jerseys during the playoffs. So if the Sharks were to win the Cup, they'd only be able to do so wearing black or white.
What's your take? Do you like seeing third jerseys in the playoffs? Or should they be reserved for the regular season only?
Reader Comments (27)
This reminds me of a trivia question:
Can anyone name the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in an alternate jersey?
Also worth noting is the fact that the Maple Leaf jerseys are remakes of the ones that they wore when they won the Stanley cup last in 1967. I think that this may have played into the decision.
@Ben M - Too easy. The Dallas Stars won in their legendary uniforms in the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres in their equally-awesome-looking sweaters from the controversial goal by Brett Hull against Dominik Hasek, the goal which made player-in-goalie-crease plays legal. I'm so glad they chose to make those uniforms the homes and aways until 2007.
I think alternates should be worn as often as they are in the regular season, every so often. Maybe for a team's home games, they wear them every 2 games, and every other game they wear their homes. Especially in the finals, it'd be interesting to see what uniform teams wins the cup with.
That would be the Dallas Stars, in their star-shaped alternates which I adore.
@ BEN M
Would that be the Dallas Stars?
I think the Sharks could work an inverted color jersey of their alternate as their primary set. Switch black and teal. It would be simple, but elegant I think.
Dallas Stars '99? According to these photos Chris put together (http://www.icethetics.info/blog/2011/4/12/icethetics-playoffs-preview-2011.html), Dallas was wearing the green jersey we are all familiar with, but it was still an alternate in the spring of '99 before becoming the home jersey in the fall (http://nhluniforms.com/Stars/Stars.html)
Didn't Dallas wear their alternate uniform for their cup win before it became their regular road jersey? The jersey with the huge star like the old all-star uniforms.
Regarding whether a team should wear their alternate... Depends on the jersey. I don't mind alternates that are worn that have a historical background (like the leafs) or ones that are just down right better than their normal jersey (like the wild). That being said, can you imagine the islanders wearing their god awful black third jerseys in the playoffs? That'd look ridiculous... Worse yet, imagine they pulled off a cinderella run and hoisted the cup with those things on... YIKES
That was Dallas wasn't it? Hated the fact they won, but those were pretty sweet jerseys.
Easy...Dallas Stars and their sexy green jerseys.
That being said, I very excited about our new jerseys. About time we brought the green back.
During the regular season the Ducks made heavy use of their third jersey (on the ice and their advertising) but they opted for their regular home sweater during the playoffs. Hmm, and here I though their third was going to get promoted to full time home jersey status.
Dallas Stars? '99?
I don't mind in the cases of SJ and MIN, but I much prefer TOR's regular home jersey.
I actually like the Sharks Teal jersey much more than the Black alternate which is ok, but substandard to the Teal. The Leafs and Wild are looking great on the ice, but if I had my way ,alternates would not be used in the playoffs. Each team has a regular set.....Use Them.
I like using alternates. And really, I know the Islanders alts are awful, but say they do go on a cinderella run and win the Cup. If you're an Islanders fan, do you really care what the uniforms look like? I'm a Pens fan, and if the Penguins for some reason decided to revive the awful Robo-Penguins unis that were the alt, then the away, and won the Cup in them, I'd honestly be just as happy as if they'd won in there current ones.
On the specific teams in this one, the Sharks have worn there alt in the playoffs the past 2 years as well. I suspect the Wild are transitioning to the alt as their home and a white one to match (Iowa Wild style), and the Leafs have always worn the throwback alt in the playoffs.
The Rangers wore their third jerseys in the 1997 playoffs
The Dallas Stars jersey they won the cup in was not a 3rd jersey. Trust me on this, as I am a Dallas native. In 1998-1999 that jersey became their official road jersey. A lot of people think it was their alternate because it didn't match their traditional home white design, but they wore the 'green star' jersey all year on the road. After winning the Stanley cup they made a home white to match their road jersey for the 1999-2000 season. The Stars did a similar thing in 2008 when the Edge-cut came out -- two different designs for road and home.
I'm not sure if a team can only use two jersey's in the Playoffs. I'm sure the Canucks used both their home and third jersey's in their 2007 series against the Stars in the first round. In the second round against the Ducks they only used their thirds.
I don't think alternate uniforms should be allowed in the postseason. No real reason. I just don't like it. Besides, all three of these teams' home uniforms are better than their alternates, so I don't see why they're not wearing them now.
IMO I hate that teams where their 3rd jerseys in the Playoffs. If you like your 3rd jersey so much make it a primary one. I think in the playoffs the NHL should require teams to wear their primary unis. I want to see the Sharks green jersey in the Playoffs.
I was kinda hoping the Sharks would wear teal, but if they're doing in 2013 what they did in 2011 then I'm fine with it. That year it was revealed that the Sharks wore black at home because the players voted on it.
Toronto made the right choice wearing their alternates, as did Minnesota, and the Islanders, Rangers, Blues, and Ducks all made the right choice by not doing so.
And I can't believe I'm saying this, but now that the Sharks are in the second round, I don't necessarily mind saying it: Go Leafs Go!
Dallas Stars is correct, personally I wish they never had to change them, those jerseys were so cool.
@Kevin, I beilieve you're right. I've seen teams use three jerseys in the playoffs before, sometimes using the third in a game 6 or 7. The Sabres also used their thirds for two games in the 2007 playoffs.
Minnesota's third jerseys are ugly. They should have worn their home jerseys. Their home jerseys are the best in the league IMO.
On the point about the NHL only letting teams use 2 jerseys during the playoffs, in 2007 the Buffalo Sabres must have broken the rule. They wore the blue Buffaslug in round 1 but when they were eliminated in round 3 they were wearing the 1970s throwback blue jersey. Same with the Vancouver Canucks that season, except they got beat in round 2
It's a newer rule. I believe it was implemented in 2008. It is a rule though, unless it was taken out this year, although it seems that teams are sticking with only one colored jersey.
To the main question though. I don't like the idea of alternate uniforms in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I would want to see my team win the Stanley Cup in their true identity.
I'd like to see a new teal Sharks jersey with the black WHA Los Angeles Sharks logo. Now that would be a throw-back! And that's not a bad logo either, IMO. All black and very simple, it's still a shark yet strikingly different.
L.A. was going to be the Aces, but changed to the Sharks when the San Francisco Sharks became the Quebec Nordiques WHA Season 1 began. :^D
Anyhoo...