Rbk EDGE Review: Predators
Saturday · Sep 29 · 2007 | 5:31 PM PDTPart 6 of 30. All 30 NHL clubs have unveiled new jerseys under the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System for the 2007-08 season. Here at the NHLToL, we're going to review every one of them. Read up and then rate the new sweaters. We'll do a full ranking after completing all of the reviews.
The Unveiling
Thursday, July 19. The Predators unveiled their jerseys at a fan event at Sommet Center in Nashville.
Home vs. Road
Home: Blue. Road: White. The two sweaters are essentially mirror images of each other but for minor alterations in terms of overall design and both feature secondary logo patches on each shoulder.
The blue home jerseys feature yellow piping extending down from the collar. The side panels are white. A thick stripe of silver outlined in blue extends from the neck to the cuff on the sleeves which are otherwise blue from the shoulder to the elbow and white to the cuff with blue piping around the wrist. The collar is blue and yellow and the primary logo serves as the crest.
The white road jerseys feature blue piping extending down from the collar. The side panels are blue. A thick stripe of silver outlined in blue extends from the neck to the cuff on the sleeves which are otherwise white with blue piping around the wrist. The collar is blue and yellow and the primary logo on a blue triangle serves as the crest with the word "NASHVILLE" just above it.
In The Details
The same shoulder patches featuring the secondary logo are found on both shoulders of each sweater. The white sweaters feature the city name above the logo, slightly differentiating it from the blue sweaters. The same numbering and lettering style has been retained.
New & Old
There are several differences in the overall design of the new sweaters when compared to the old. The silver shoulder yoke now extends completely down the arm. It also had yellow piping and a much thicker blue stripe around it that curved down to the wrist. The stripe and elements around the waist are also gone but replaced by side paneling. The new white sweaters do not include as much blue as the old ones did. On the ice, the jerseys look relatively similar, but you can find differences if you're really looking.
Standard FAQ
Numbers on the front? No.
Laces at the collar? No.
NHLToL Editorial by Chris
I've always been a fan of the Predators' jerseys. The old white is one of two non-Lightning jerseys that I actually own. (The other being a 1996 Mighty Ducks third jersey so that may not be a good barometer.) Looking at the home sweater on a rack, it can make you think of a t-shirt, the way the blue extends only down to the elbow. But I think that just adds to its uniqueness while many find that it's a fault. Another thing a lot of folks aren't fond of is the city name above the logo on the road sweater. That's one element I'm on the fence about. I see the merits of it while at the same time am bothered by it as a design element. On top of that, seeing these jerseys on a rack versus in action are two very different animals. I really don't care for how the whites look on the ice. I am impressed with the blues though. I'll call it a wash. 3/5
Reader Comments (11)
Agree with you Chris on that one.
At the moment, I'm thinking that the two best jersey's of the new batch are:
1: Washington capitals red
2: St-Louis Blues Blue one.
That Predators jersey have not passed the test of time, and will certainly not.
hey chris. i love ur blog. heres something from an article that i found amusing. about new piping:
"Worst thing to happen to hockey since Gary Bettman became commissioner. In fact, since this happened on his watch and seems to sum up everything that's gone wrong during his tenure, Uni Watch will henceforth refer to the piping as Bettman stripes."
i think its a very fitting title.
heres the link if you want it: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/070927&sportCat=nhl
3? Wow.
I thought their previous design was ugly, but this makes the old stuff look good in comparison.
I'm a hater of the "Bettman stripes" (as it was defined in a previous post aka piping) but for some reason they seem to get lost on the side more so than some of the other jerseys with piping
I'm also finding that I'm liking this jersey with no stripes at the bottom of the jersey
The jerseys with the city name on it are starting to fall in the catagory of jerseys with hockey sticks / pucks / players in the logo - We know what city they are from...and will it really help some non hockey fan? Wjar
hey chris. i love ur blog. heres something from an article that i found amusing. about new piping:
"Worst thing to happen to hockey since Gary Bettman became commissioner. In fact, since this happened on his watch and seems to sum up everything that's gone wrong during his tenure, Uni Watch will henceforth refer to the piping as Bettman stripes."
I saw that. Cracked me up.
The jerseys with the city name on it are starting to fall in the catagory of jerseys with hockey sticks / pucks / players in the logo - We know what city they are from...and will it really help some non hockey fan? Wjar
Do you really think the purpose is to tell people where the team is from? What about hometown pride and the like? I'm just throwing that out there.
Thanks for the comments, all!
Good point Chris! I should have looked at it from a home fans point of view - Being from Cleveland I'm actually guilty of wanting my gear to read "Cleveland" rather than the team name...the pride thing
I think Nashville upgraded honestly. Their previous unis were horrid. These aren't great, but they're a small step up.
"What about hometown pride and the like?"
You really need your city's name on your team's jersey to generate hometown pride? Not that I root for the Canucks or Flames despite bouncing between Vancouver or Calgary, but shouldn't the fact that, you know, the team PLAYS in your city be enough of a source of hometown pride? The Thrashers could find even more ridiculous spots to put their host city's name on their jerseys, their games are still going to have half-empty attendance. It feels like a weak excuse to justify an excessively busy jersey.
i dont know why but the predators away jersey is my favorite in all sports. I usually hate citys that put there name in the jersey but it looks so good in this case i think i just like the silver white yellow colours together but im not sure if i could i would give it 6/5 but i give it 5/5
I find it interesting that my biggest beef with the Nashville jerseys has nothing to do with the fact that Nashville is on the white. My beef is with the shiny silver trim on the arms and shoulders, I have always hated it and wish it would just be a flat grey, it looks like space age material or what astronauts wrap their food in. Because it's still there I can only rate these as average.
I always liked the Predlies jerseys and these new ones are even better. I happen to like the silver also.