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The NHL... A What If? Series - Part I: Colorado Rockies


TalktoChuck

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I have been working on a project during my free time on what some NHL teams/markets might have looked like if it weren't for some relocations/foldings that took place between the 70's and 90's. So here is Part I: The Colorado Rockies.

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The Colorado Rockies were an NHL between 1976 and 1981. They were originally the Kansas City Scouts before moving to Denver in 1976, and then after many seasons of poor attendance, and bad play the team finally packed up and moved to New Jersey. The would become the Devils, and you all know what happened after that.

In this project though, the Rockies never make the move to New Jersey, and they are still in Denver to this day. But what would the Rockies look like now? Would they have kept the uniforms unchanged? Who they change colors? Would they get new logos?

1976-1977

When the Rockies moved to Denver from Kansas City, the kept their colors of blue, red and yellow but changed their name and adopted a new logo that was based of the Colorado state flag. Their original uniforms were classic in style and very fitting to the era in which they were created. The white jersey was adorned with yellow/red/yellow sleeve stripes and blue pants. While the blue jersey was adorned with the same yellow/red/yellow stripes and red pants.

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1977-1985

After their first season in Colorado, the Rockies decided to make a few changes to their look. The first and most obvious one, being the addition of player's names to the blue jersey. Now both home and away sets had the player's name on the back. The other not so obvious changes were the addition of a yellow/blue/yellow stripe to the bottom of the red pants legs, so that the striping would better match that of the blue pants. And they began to wear white helmets with the white jersey. This look would last them until the 1984-1985 season.

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1985-1990

After the 1984-1985 season, the Rockies would make one small tweak to their look, in order to simplify things and also to save an extra penny. They would drop the red pants that were worn with the blue jersey, and start using their blue pants exclusively.

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1990-1996

After the 1989-1990 season, the Rockies would make their first drastic uniform change. They would drop their jersey design that they have had since their first season in favor of a more streamlined and modern striping style. The new jerseys feature a white/yellow/red/blue stripe pattern that would hold consistent on both jerseys. The stripes would be adorned on the sleeves, hems and socks of the uniform. They also dropped the striping on the pants and now have solid blue pants with both jerseys.

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1996-2007

In 1996, the Rockies would follow the direction of the Sabres, Islanders, and Capitals in completely rebranding themselves with a new logo. This logo was supposed to be a modernization of their old logo. Still based on the Colorado flag, the new logo features a red C outlined in navy blue, with a mountain inside of a yellow circle in the middle of the C. The new logo would also bring about a change in colors. All three colors (red, blue, and yellow) are darkened pretty drastically. Along with the new logo/colors, the team would adopt a new uniform with striping made to reflect mountain peaks. The blue jersey had sleeves adorned with a single red peak stripe outlined by two small yellow and white stripes. The hem would feature this same style but with multiple peaks instead of just one. The white jersey would follow the same style but with blue peak stripes outlined by two small red and yellow stripes. These jerseys would be worn for a total of 11 seasons.

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2007-2009

With the introduction of the new Rebook Edge jersey system in the NHL, some looks were unable to be reproduced on the new jersey cuts. One of these designs being the Rockies mountain peak design. Because of this the Rockies are forced to adopt a new uniform. The logos and colors would remain the same. The new uniforms feature stripes that go all along the tops of the sleeves and side panel stripes. The color pattern would follow the same style as the previous set; red/yellow/white on the blue jersey, and blue/yellow/red on the white jersey.

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2009-2011

In 2009, the Rockies would adopt the first third uniform in the history of the franchise. Because of all the retro craze going on during this time, the Rockies would adopt a faxback design, complete with lace-up collars, as their third jersey. This jersey was navy blue with a red/white/yellow/white/red sleeve, sock, and hem striping design.

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2011-2012

With the large amount of success the third jersey had with fans, in 2011 the Rockies would decide to adopt that jersey as their full time look. They created a new matching white jersey, and retired their previous home/away jerseys.

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2012-present

In 2012, the Colorado Rockies would pay homage to the original 1976 team with a throwback third jersey. This jersey would feature the same design as the original blue sweater that the team wore in 1976.

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I'd love to see you do this for the Nordiques or the Whalers. You'd be doing fewer concepts, of course, but I'd still love to see what you could do for modern updates of those teams.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (CHL - 2018 Orr Cup Champions) Chicago Rivermen (UBA/WBL - 2014, 2015, 2017 Intercontinental Cup Champions)

King's Own Hexham FC (BIP - 2022 Saint's Cup Champions) Portland Explorers (EFL - Elite Bowl XIX Champions) Real San Diego (UPL) Red Bull Seattle (ULL - 2018, 2019, 2020 Gait Cup Champions) Vancouver Huskies (CL)

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