Leafs Reviving the '30s This Winter?

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be resurrecting their 1930s-era jerseys for a second time when they hit the ice for their first Winter Classic next January, according to one report.

The usually-reliable Howard Berger posted details yesterday on his blog, Berger Bytes, citing a "merchandising source" who tipped him off to last season's new third jersey as well.

Berger refers to it as the 1931 jersey, but according to the well-researched Hockey Uniform Database, it actually debuted in 1927 when the Leafs first changed their colors from green to blue. However, in 1930, shoulder stripes were added to the design.

The look, featuring 12 white stripes down each sleeve, was retired in 1934 in favor of just two white stripes at the elbows. But the Winter Classic will, in fact, be the second time fans will get to see these sweaters in action since 1934.

They were worn at least twice during the 1996-97 season. Berger even has dates and newspaper clippings with photos (Nov. 2, 1996 and Feb. 22, 1997). The team wore the throwbacks to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Maple Leaf Gardens.

So what do you think? Should the Maple Leafs go with this look for their first outdoor appearance? Or is there something else they should consider?

By the way, it's August 2, and not only have jerseys yet to be unveiled for Detroit or Toronto, but we still haven't seen an official 2013 Winter Classic logo. I can't imagine we'll have to wait too much longer for any of it to be unveiled.

New Sweaters Around the Minors

One after another this summer, teams across the minor leagues have been overhauling their looks. We've mostly been focusing on logos lately, so today we're switching gears. Check out some of the new jerseys that have been recently unveiled.

On Friday, the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers not only unveiled new sweater designs, but a revamped logo and color palette. Most notably, red is no longer one of the team's primary colors.

The Nailers' have been red, gold and black for as long as I can remember. But beginning in 2012, they switch to black and gold, just like their NHL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Penguins. In fact, their new home and road uniforms look awfully familiar.

The new dark jersey (right) was actually introduced as a third last season. It gets the full-time treatment this fall along with a white version to match. Of course the red isn't completely disappearing. The Nailers will wear a red alternate uniform (center) which features the old logo on the shoulders.

A bit of a downgrade here, if you ask me. Shrinking the color palette often provides a cleaner look, but in this case, it just sort of flattens the Nailers' logo. As we've seen with the Penguins, Vegas gold is just too bland to be a team's only color.

For those not familiar with the ECHL, teams wear white at home for the first half of the season and switch for the second half. The Nailers say the red jersey will be worn on Sunday afternoons at WesBanco Arena.

Elsewhere in the ECHL, the South Carolina Stingrays unveiled their 20th anniversary logo along with a pair of new jerseys for 2012. The North Charleston-based club made the announcement on May 31.

The Stingrays have done it right. These are some great-looking uniforms — even if the anniversary logo is a little too busy. Fans should be thrilled to see them hit the ice this fall. By the way, if you find yourself needing to add one of these to your collection, they're available.

And finally, the OHL's recently rebranded Mississauga Steelheads officially unveiled their uniforms last Friday. Here's a closer look at their new secondary logo.

And they'll look a lot like the nearby Toronto Maple Leafs when they hit the ice.

If you need a recap on where this team came from, see this blog post from May 31. Before the name change, the Steelheads were known as the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. 

Now what do you think of all the new threads hitting the lower leagues this fall?