NHL Tweets (Then Deletes) Uniform Rules
Friday · Sep 13 · 2013 | 10:43 AM PDT
League's PR account said rules would be strictly enforced this year
As I was scanning my Twitter feed this morning, I noticed the NHL's public relations team shared via Twitter a NHL Uniform Guidelines graphic and stated that these rules would be strictly enforced this year. When I sat down to write up this blog post, the tweet was gone.
Not sure why they deleted it, but I grabbed everything beforehand so I can still share it here with you guys. The reason is I thought some of the rules were interesting and if it's being "strictly enforced," does that mean a player can now sit in the box for an improper uniform?
First, here's the exact text of the now removed tweet:
@PR_NHL As directed by GMs, and w/ player safety in mind, there will be strict enforcement of uniform guidelines this season pic.twitter.com/dYgoKKRKXp
Part of what struck me as odd is that the size of the graphic made the text almost impossible to read. (That reason for removing the tweet could've been that simple. It might go back up later with a larger graphic.) But I was able to read and transcribe it.
Graphic from @PR_NHLSo here it is, verbatim from the graphic:
NHL Uniform Guidelines
Rule 9.1 Team Uniform: All players of each team shall be dressed uniformly with approved design and color of their helmets, sweaters, short pants, stockings, and skates. Altered uniforms of any kinds, i.e., Velcro inserts, over-sized jerseys, altered collars, etc., will not be permitted. Any player or goalkeeper not complying with this rule shall not be permitted to participate in the game. For violations, refer to 9.5.
Rule 9.5 Protective Equipment: All protective equipment, except gloves, headgear, and goaltenders' leg guards must be worn under the uniform. Should it be brought to the attention of the Referee that a player is wearing, for example, an elbow pad that is not covered by his jersey, he shall instruct the player to cover up the pad and a second violation by the same player would result in a minor penalty being assessed.
Two minutes for showing your pads.
Rule 9.5 governs all protective equipment, including pants. Players are not permitted to tuck their jersey into their pants in such a manner where the top padding of the pant and/or additional body protection (affixed to the pant or affixed to the Player's body) is exposed outside the jersey. The back uniform number must not be covered or obstructed in any fashion by the protruding pads or other protective padding.
Is it just me, or was this written for Alex Ovechkin?
Any garmets/protective equipment which is exposed above the neckline of the jersey must be a solid color (matching the team uniform) and without any stripes, commercial name and/or exposed logo identification. Clubs have the option to expose a specified team logo on the neck area.
Rule 9.3 Player's Jersey: Sleeves must extend into the cuff of the glove.
Pursuant to Rule 9.1, Players' pants must be worn in a uniform fashion by all Players. The pants must be one consistent color around andn throughout the leg of the pant. Pant legs are not to be ripped, cut, or torn in the leg/thigh area. Under no circumstances should a Player's sock, undergarment, or bare leg be exposed through the pant. Players are permitted to alter their pants for comfort and performance-related reasons; however, the pant leg must remain one uninterrupted uniform color as to not expose the bare leg/sock in the thigh area.
Show a little leg, spend a little time in the box. (By the way, I thought it said, "under no circumstances should a Player's sack be exposed." May not be outlined specifically, but I'm sure it's a rule just the same.)
Only approved manufacturers within the NHL On-Ice Branded Equipment program are permitted to receive on-ice exposure during any pre-, regular-, and/or post-season game. A final listing of all approved manufacturers will be sent to each Club Equipment Manager by September 1 in each season. Equipment categories governed by this policy are sticks, skates, gloves, goal equipment, helmets, facial protection and pants. Any unapproved equipment manufacturers must have logos/identification markings removed and/or covered.
Long live Reebok!
All Players are permitted to wear only the equipment that has been cleared for use by the NHL, as set forth on the List of Cleared Equipment Prototypes for use in the National Hockey League. Equipment that is required for medical purposes (e.g., extra glove protection following a finger fracture) requires NHL permission before it may be worn if it is not on the List of Cleared Equipment Prototypes.
No wonder the graphic was unreadable. That's a lot of text. But there you have it. Nothing scandalous, just some reminders for Ovechkin. He's the only guy I can think of off the top of my head who regularly violates any of these rules.
Reader Comments (30)
Ribeiro, among others, also has a jersey tuck, and a lot of the fighters/agitators go with super short sleeves that expose the elbow pads (the better to fling the elbows off quickly to punch you). A ton of guys rip the pants up or leave the zippers undone. There are some pretty hysterical pictures of guys out there.
A lot of players have their sleeves slightly up on there elbow pads and not touching the gloves. Should be interesting to see how strictly it's enforced.
Definitely a page out of the No Fun League (NFL). God forbid there could be personality on the ice
Also any leaks on the Flames release time frame?
Wow. Must've been a boring summer for the NHL. Looks like they're trying to get everyone to look exactly the same, like a bunch of robots... I can understand if it's for safety reasons, but, that bit about the pants, where they "can't be ripped or torn", I mean, that's kind of going crazy! It takes a lot of time to get equipment to fit comfortably, especially pants, and now, if someone has a slight scuff, they have to get new equipment? Yoy. This looks like it's going to send prices on everything skyrocketing because teams are going to go to the poor house over constantly replacing the equipment... That being said, I agree with Chris, seems like they're targeting Ovechkin, which is a shame, I like that he wears his jersey with the back plate exposed, kinda reminds me of when Gretzky did the tuck to the one side.
This makes no sense to me, I have played hockey for a long time and the way a player wears his uniform is based on comfort and the way he feels the best to perform, I think telling players they cant tuck their jerseys or pull up their sleeves is no different than than telling him how to wear his equipment under his uniform.
I like the idea of cleaning up Ovechkin's look. When he wears a suit, does he tuck the jacket into the back of his pants? That thing flapping around on the back of his pants looks ridiculous. And players with their pant legs cut just look sloppy. Somehow, I doubt any of these rules will ever be enforced.
The funny thing is I actually remember seeing Chris Drury wearing pants that were ripped around his thighs one time. He's literally the only player I've ever seen do that so it can't be THAT big a deal.
Tons of players tuck - Ovie, Malkin, Letang, St. Louis, Gonchar, Semin & several goalies come to mind. It will be interesting to see if this is really gets enforced.
Hockey players are ridiculous about their comfort. Just look at the San Jose Sharks and the weight issues having an extra stripe caused these fools. Maybe its time to force them all to wear extra heavy uniforms and equipment. Perhaps that is the key to more scoring. Heavier goal pads so goalers have a tougher time popping up. Maybe it reduces injuries too with a bunch of extra padding.
This may also be geared toward the Rangers since they all wear modified padding on the backs of their gloves for added protection. I was never sure if those glove mods were league-approved.
Players can't have ripped/unzipped pants for safety reasons. When the pant leg is open, the femoral artery is exposed to skate blades. All minor hockey has the same rules regarding pants.
Was really hoping that this was a set of rules for the teams' uniforms themselves, like no front numbers or 90s-style over-sized logos.
Carl Hagelin of the Rangers does the jersey tuck and cuts his pant in the thigh area. He's surely screwed.
Would this "exposed garment above the neckline" thing have to do with Tomas Plekanec's turtlenecks at all? I think they're all black, not Canadiens red or blue.
I would imagine that's not supposed to be a small graphic. Maybe even poster sized?
How very fascist of the NHL (circa 1939).
Marchand & Seguin defiantly fall under 9.5, Bergeron would fall under 9.3
I really think that these uniform regulations weren't written by the NHL, but by Reebok to protect their image. Most equipment is made in specific team colors, and to the best of my knowledge, all the brands are safety certified by the NHL for ice hockey use. About the t-shirts under the jerseys, some guys have a lucky color they wear. Hockey players are very superstitious, and these new regulations may drive the best players out.
Plekanec's turtlenecks are blue, so they'd be fine.
Interesting to see Ovechkin properly attired in tonight's exhibition game. Maybe they ARE going to enforce this rule after all.
I could be wrong, but I believe jersey tucking began after the Reebock streamlined jerseys were introduced. Ovechkin, for instance, didn't tuck his jersey when the NHl used the CCM jersey. It'll be interesting to see if there's any pushback from the players about the rules.
Gretzky used to tuck the right half of his jersey. He said to keep it out of the way of his right wrist, which would be the upper hand on his stick.
there must be some truth to it. I watched the Caps/Jets Hockeyville game last night and Ovechkin's jersey, while tucked during warmups, was not tucked in when the game started and stayed tucked throughout the game.
These rules are ridiculous like you cant role up or sleves or have your jersey tuck in. Do they want every one looking like crosby are they going make all the players have the same curve and tape there stick heel to toe in black tape? plenty of players role up there sleves and tuck there jersey and they dont have problems with safty issues , its just comfterbale for the players
I really like these rules simply for the fact that all the players jerseys will look better on the ice. I don't see any problem in tucking your jersey, I've never had a problem telling who a player is because their jersey was tucked, in fact I think it makes it easier to tell who a player is based on their own tuck. I hope the refs go easy on guys for the first half of the season, or we'll most likely see a lot of penalties, and my Hurricanes are right in the firing line with Alexander Semin!
Datsyuk also does the jersey tuck. Also, I'm curious as to whether the pull was also due to the egregious spelling errors.
I don't think it's unreasonable for an employer to insist how his employees dress for work. The NFL has even stricter rules and the players don't seem to mind. I get the comfort thing, but most of these guys are well beyond the age of remembering the over-sized jersey's of the past......it's really not a giant issue in my eyes.
@WeirdFish: Any spelling errors are on me and my rush to transcribe the graphic.
Am I the only one who loves the sample uniform design featured in the graphic? It's a sharp look.
It's official, Alexander Semin got a 2 minute penalty for not wearing equipment properly, it's a shame really.
Reebok ruined hockey jerseys. Its a shame that they could never go back to CCM because Reebok bought CCM. I hate the edge design. Even if the NHL switched to another company like Nike, it will never go back to the old 6100 style cut of jerseys that CCM/Starter/Nike/Koho/ProPlayer once did.