An NHL Alternate History: Phoenix Jets

[knnhrvy16]

I was playing my NHL 09 game last night, dominating with my created Winnipeg Jets team, and got to thinking - what if Winnipeg didn't keep the Jets' identity, and Phoenix took it with them? I said the name "Phoenix Jets" again and again in my head, to the point where I finally decided to spend the rest of the night and all of this morning (lots of free time ) creating a new uniform history for the "Phoenix Jets". I also moved them a year earlier, jsut to give a bit of a bigger cushion for the "Inagural" uniforms to set in before the fads of the late-90's took over (like the hint? ). Anyways, as I said, I spent all night last night and this morning designing and researching, so I could be as realistic as possible.

My goal for this project isn't so much how good the uniform looks (well partly haha of course), but how realiztic the uniform history is - would the Jets really wear this?

Anyways, without further due, here is the uniform history of the Phoenix Jets, 1994 to present day.

(I will definetely need more posts to cram it all together so please excuse the multiple posts)

1994-1995: The Inagural Season

For the Jets' inagural season in Phoenix, switching "Winnipeg" for "Phoenix" on the primary crest is the only change to the crest, and the only change to the uniform is the addition of the Arizona state flag to the shoulders of the jersey (following the ways of the NFL's Cardinals). The Jets unveil a patch in celebration of thier inagural season to be worn on thier uniform all year long, which features the main crest inside an outline of the state of Arizona, topped with a banner which reads "Inagural Season", flanked on the left by a "94" and on the right by a "95".

[knnhrvy16]

1995-1997

The Jets keep the same design, but remove the inagural patches after the 1994-1995 season. For the 1995-1996 season, Phoenix only uses thier home whites and road blues. In 1996-1997, however, the Jets add a new red third uniform, dubbed by the media and fans as "The Pride of Arizona", due the sleeves featuring an Arizona flag design.

to

1997-2001: The Late 90's Take Over

A total rehaul of the Jets' identity occurs when teams all over sports jump onto the late 90's bandwagon of eccentric and crazy colors. The Jets change from thier traditional Blue, Red, and White, to Black, Teal, Orange, and White. The logos and uniform are also completely changed. The new logo features a desert landscape with a teal jet flying past a desert mountain. An alternate logo is also designed with a teal jet flying in front of the letter "P". The uniforms feature the new crest and favort the desert landscape, featuring the desert mountains on the sleeves as the humber holders and Jet streaks on the sleeves, front, and back. The home remains white while the road changes to black. In 1999, Phoenix introduces a teal third jersey, favoring the desert landscape even more as the desert mountains cover the front, back, and sleeves of the jersey, as well as cactuses on the sleeve. Featured as the crest of the jersey is the alternate "P" logo, with the primary crest on the shoulders.

I'll be back in about two hours or so, so I'll complete the rest of the history when I get back. Stay tuned!

[Generic]

"1997-2001: The Late 90's Take Over"

Is just wonderful. Very unique and creative. I'm definitly excited for the rest of this.

[BrySmalls]

What a great idea! However, I've noticed that "Inaugural" is misspelled throughout your first post.

[NEW.ERA]

I love the new Phoenix Jets logo.

Great work keep it up.

[north dakota]

These uniforms are great

[TrueYankee26]

How ironic! The Jets are in Miami Dolphins Colors!

[DelayedPenalty]

How ironic! The Jets are in Miami Dolphins Colors!

I'm failing to see the irony.

[IceCap]

That 90s style uniform set is chillingly spot-on. It really does look like something from the era.

[knnhrvy16]

Thanks guys!!

Oh thanks for pointing that out Mindless, I didn't even notice! I'll have to fix that here soon!

Alrighty, here's the rest of the Phoenix Jets' uniform history:

2001-2003: Toning Down

The Jets keep thier colors and logo, but decide to change their uniforms to a more conservative look, ditching the desert mountains and jet streaks for a traditional design. Though not officially re-delegating thier colors, teal replaces black as the dominant color in the new uniforms. The third jersey used from 1999-2001 is dropped, and the Jets never use an alternate with this set.

2004-2007: Return to the Colors of Old

After seven years of Teal, Black, and Orange, the Jets dig back into thier roots and bring back the fabled Blue, Red, and White, adding silver as well. The logo design remains the same for both the primary and secondary, but re-colored to the new colors. The uniform is modeled after the old Bobby Hull uniforms, with modern piping and the addition of silver. In 2005, Phoenix unveils an alternate red uniform featuring a brand new design never before used in Jets history. "PHOENIX" in white, outlined in silver, is shown diagonally across the chest of the jersey and the sleeves feature a large blue stripe (followed below by two small stripes, one white and one silver), in which the numbers, also white outlined in silver, are featured. All three jerseys, in an attempt to channel a more classic look, do not feature a shoulder logo and the alternate "P" logo is relegated to helmets only.

[knnhrvy16]

2007-Present: The Edge Era/ Return to the Tkachuk Days

As the NHL announced a new revolutionary and widespread changing of uniforms due to Reebok's new EDGE technology, uniform changes for the Jets are on the horizon. Along with the uniforms however, the front office mulls a logo change. Many fans clammer for the inagural look (or a full switch back to the 1980's uniforms, of course switching "Winnipeg" for "Phoenix"), as many fans begin to wear throwback and vintage gear to games. Hats, jerseys, and shirts are seen adorning mostly the 1994 logo, with others donning the Bobby Hull era logo. To please the fans, Phoenix announces that they are changing logos, and unveil a modernized version of the 1994 logo, with rumors that a Bobby Hull era-inspired alternate will be in use sometime in the next few seasons. The new look is an instant hit with the fans. Also joining the new look is a brand new alternate logo; an outline of the state of Arizona, featuring a design similar to the state flag in the top half, and "PHX" on the bottom half. The much awaited throwback alternate is indeed unvieled for the 2009-2010 season, a direct re-make of the late 70's-80's uniform, with the sole exception that "Winnipeg" is indeed replaced by "Phoenix".

Alright, what do you guys think? Like I said, of course I do care about how it looks, but my main goal is realism, how realistic is this timeline?

[twi]

Good execution and I love these alternate timeline concept ideas. However, I hate when teams create "new" uniforms by re-treading old stuff. I would have greatly disliked the Phoenix Jets reverting back to the old logos/colors.

[Lights Out]

I would buy that jersey in a second, and I'm not even a hockey fan!

Really great job on this concept, I love how realistic each stage of the concept is according to the trends of the era. My one complaint is that the 2007-present logo looks a tad awkward - all the letters in "PHOENIX" are at different angles and scales, and the "JETS" has lost a bit of readability over the original.

[Generic]

Wow, this was a very realistic series of jerseys, spot on accuracy for styles of the eras. All unique ideas. Great work here!

[aci]

That was epic. I think you did a good job on all of them, the uniform styles were very realistic for their eras, and I have to say that I love those late 90's jerseys, especially the home and roads. The pre-Edge home and roads were great as well. Not feeling that alt, but to be fair I just don't like uber-plain jerseys in general.

p.s. I 'lol-ed' at the excessive use of Bettman stripes on the Edge jerseys.

[coyotes88]

This is awesome! However I have one suggestion: you should change the orange in the 90s era jerseys to more of a copper because of the importance of copper to the state of Arizona.

[Glover]

Amazing. I love the idea, and I love the looks of the jerseys and logos. I don't know if you were planning on doing this for other teams like the Whalers, but that would be a pretty interesting series.

[Frenchie]

What can be said that would really do justice to this epic???

Nothing I can think of, that's for sure...

As if the designs weren't enough, the "historical" portion of it is amazing...

[Frenchie]

How about adding a new episode to the saga?

They can't survive, get bought by an eccentric Southwestern Ontario millionaire who relocates them in Kitchener-Waterloo...

[Frenchie]

One more thing: will you do more???

I'd like to see the evolution of the Colorado Nordiques,

the Carolina Whalers

and the New Jersey Scouts...