JerseyWatch Mini-Update
Wednesday · Jul 10 · 2013 | 1:40 PM PDT
A full NHL JerseyWatch update should be posted within the next two weeks. But there are several items I wanted to touch on briefly right away so we're all on the same page.
Sabres' new third jersey coming Friday, could be gold
A short headline with a lot of new information to digest. But it's true. Yesterday, the daughter of Buffalo Sabres Terry Pegula briefly took over the team's Twitter account for a Q&A session. Among other things, Kelly was asked for details on the forthcoming third jersey.
To which she replied:
I don't know what "sneak glimpse" means exactly, but it sounds like we're getting a look at the jersey on Friday. Will it be prospects modeling it for us? We'll see.
Following that tweet, I heard from a source I trust that Buffalo's new sweater will actually be gold, rather than the blue we've come to expect. Hence the eye-grabbing background color in the graphic above. Is it true? Guess we'll find out in a couple days.
This jersey will replace the royal blue alternate the Sabres wore for two seasons to mark their 40th anniversary. In their four decades, the team has worn blue, navy blue, white, black and red jerseys. But never yellow. That seems to be Nashville territory. Can the Sabres do it without looking like a copycat?
Wild to reveal new road jersey at Minnesota State Fair
Last week, Minneapolis Star-Tribune beat writer Michael Russo let us know that the Minnesota Wild will unveil their new white road sweater at the Minnesota State Fair. He tweeted:
If you're curious, the Minnesota State Fair takes place Thurs., Aug. 22 through Labor Day, Sept. 2. So that's a 12-day span. But obviously late August is a good bet. I'll keep you posted as I learn more.
2014 Heritage Classic announced for Vancouver
The NHL officially announced today something we've all known for a while now. The 2014 Heritage Classic will be held at B.C. Place on March 2 as the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators.
I haven't seen the full logo anywhere yet, but the text treatment above has been making the rounds online. It at least gives us a bit of an insight into the type style. That's something, right? Hopefully we won't have to wait long for the full version.
Islanders not changing for Brooklyn. Really!
Chris Botta feels the need to keep reminding us that Charles Wang has no intention of changing the New York Islanders' logo or uniform when the team moves to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the next couple years. That's probably because of all the conflicting reports.
Last month, Isles CEO Brett Yormark was seen on the Internet talking about realigning the club's brand with its new location. He never said anything specific but it's easy to read "changes are in store." But every time he says something like that, Wang, the owner, fires back about how the existing identity isn't going anywhere.
But reading between all the lines — and there are a lot of them — everything seems to be leaning toward a third jersey change. The current black one is widely disliked (at least on the Internet) and could easilly be replaced with something more "Brooklyn-ized" by 2014 or 2015.
The Sharks could've been the Oakland Blades
Yesterday, the Silicon Valley Business Journal had an interesting piece on the genesis of the San Jose Sharks' identity from the early '90s. The writer spoke with sports consultant Matt Levine, who was brought on in 1989 to help develop the club's branding.
Levine talks about why the colors are teal and black, how S.J. Sharkie was born, and the significance of the triangle from which the shark protrudes in the logo. But more importantly, he explains that the franchise was almost based in Oakland and a name-the-team contest yielded Blades at the preferred moniker.
I highly recommend reading the story.
That's all. Looking forward to the unveiling of the Sabres' third jersey on Friday. 'Til then!
Reader Comments (11)
The Sabres have for the past few years done a Blue vs Gold scrimmage at the end of development camp which is open to the public. This year they're making it an all day event with live music and calling it ‘Sabres Summer Fan Fest’. Maybe we'll see the new threads worn in the scrimmage instead of the usual practice jerseys?
Great, Buffalo lifts gold from Nashville, saturates yet another jersey color.
Looking forward to Buffalo's new third. If I didn't have to work I'd be at the camp to see the unveil/glimpse in person. If they want to go Gold, alright, it can be done. Just has to be done right. The pre Reebok Edge red third they wore in the past could be a good foundation to build off of with modern updates and recoloring. http://www.sportsjerseypedia.com/pictures/Buffalo-Sabres-Red-Alternate-Jersey-2000-06.jpg
I knew for a long time that 'Blades' was a more popular choice than 'Sharks' but I didn't know it was originally going to be based in Oakland.
::Worried Sabres fan::
NOOOO. ANYTHING BUT GOLD! I've said this so many times before, but gold/yellow is an awful color to wear on the ice. It's too light to be a dark uniform and too dark to be a light uniform. It's easier to tell apart darker colors (basically anything but yellow/gold) from white in split-second reactions.
Part of that story regarding the Sharks is inaccurate. The Sharks were never going to be based in Oakland -- the original Oakland Coliseum held just about 12K for hockey when the Seals played there (much too small). It was probably considered for temp housing along with the Cow Palace while the SJ arena was being built (originally it was supposed to be one year, but the SJ arena site had to be cleaned up -- gas stations and auto and tire shops were originally located there -- the delay forced the Sharks to play two years at the Cow Palace). BTW, later in the 80's the interior of the Oak Coliseum was gutted and seating expanded for the Warriors -- they played one season in San Jose while the coliseum arena was being renovated.
It was Howard Baldwin (who i believe had previously owned the Whalers and then Pens) who originally started the idea of getting an expansion franchise in San Jose. He worked with the mayor at that time, Tom McEnery, who owned quite a bit of downtown land in SJ. The rest is pretty much history (bond measure, etc) as the Gund brothers then entered the picture and were then granted an expansion franchise.
It is true that Blades was tossed around and was dismissed because of the gang connotation. Originally crimson was floated as a color, but with Stanford (cardinal red) and the 49ers (red), that was shelved quickly. Plus at the time they wanted something fresh with a bit more marketing zing. Since I was one of the first to deposit $$ for season tix, I was part of several focus groups, and they really wanted a light blue (like Quebec) because teal was a bit hard to get "right". But our focus group suggested teal since it made more sense, it was different, a bit trendy, and no other team wore that color. They finally went with teal, the main logo, and shark fin shoulder patch. The jersey debuted at a local mall (which housed an ice rink at the time) in Cupertino, with Gordie Howe as the main celebrity.
Seeing the Sabres in gold will be a nice change. I think it is nice to see something different, once in a while as long as it is done right. Hopefully the Sabres' new look won't end up like the Islanders' thirds. Chris, I notice that your mini JerseyWatch has nothing about the Canadiens. You'd think that somebody would say something by now, seeing that any changes to their uniforms, however minor they are would be a big deal in hockey mad Montreal. Hopefully we will all hear something about them soon. Also, the Sharks haven't released anything about any changes at all. I notice that they have been showing nothing but their black thirds on everything. It would make sense if they are working on a white version of that and saying bye bye to the color teal, which will really suck.
@R: You stumbled on the reason why I called it a mini-update. I only had new information for a couple of teams.
But while I'm here... I've been hearing that the Canadiens may have scrapped their plans to make any jersey changes. I know there was something in the pipeline at some point. But now I'm not sure it'll happen this year... or anytime soon. I'll keep an eye on it.
Nothing to report on San Jose at this time.
HA-HA. Best way to introduce a mascot by putting it on live TV and trashing the away teams bench, the New York Rangers and making him come out of the zamboni.
Oh wow, thanks for the update. I wonder why Montreal would scrap their changes. You have to wonder what changes they were considering too. Since the first JW was posted in January, even though I was very interested in Dallas and the Canes' changes, as odd as it might sound, I have been far more curious as to what the Habs would do. That's because it was completely unexpected. The Canes were understandable and don't get me started on Dallas. The Stars last look had to go and we all thought the Canes were going to fix the mistake they made to their unique look in 2007 by removing the Shoulder Yolk piping until we all found out that they decided to become Team Canada instead. As for the Sharks, it's starting to look like the person that said only the front numbers + shoulder patches were going was right afterall. However, they seem to love the 3rds so much that I could see them make a white version of the black one too. If that's the case, I hope they bring back their original teal jersey as an alternate to eventually replace those. Chris, thanks again for the extra update.