DTConcepts

I hadn't thought about what the jersey would look without white, so I made a crappy five minute mockup. I like the real one better, personally. Though neither of them are really that bad.

Here are a bunch of examples for my visual learners out there. Straight stripes on the arms and waist, and only two-to-three colors. The teams below (Blackhawks, Rangers, Canadiens) are the gold standard of classic, traditional jerseys in the league. Experimental color palettes, sublimated striping patterns, and — more recently — the inclusion of black as a base color. These three alternate jerseys encompass the new definition of "modern" in the Adidas era. The 'Edge' templates were a bunch of overly modern and frankly bad looking looks introduced by Reebok when they took over as the league's jersey manufacturer in 2007. The post above did a good job summarizing the overall Edge templates, but here are three teams that all had their looks ruined by the Reebok Edge program. That's a bit subjective, but these are my top three. I tried not to go with any classical looks that haven't been changed in the last 40 years, like the Blackhawks/Rangers/Canadiens/etc. These three jerseys (Avalanche, Wild, Coyotes) are all pretty popular among fans and jersey enthusiasts alike. Again, subjective, but these are my bottom three. None of these jerseys are really all that bad, but they could all certainly be better. Adidas has done a pretty good job of giving NHL teams solid looks, but there are still some teams lagging behind. Unlike football and basketball, hockey teams don't really have much ability to customize their playing surfaces. Aside from putting their logo at center ice and adding a pattern to the center red line, NHL ice surfaces are all pretty standardized. I do like the way the Rangers incorporate their logo, arena name, and brand at center ice without following the "Logo in the middle, arena name around the outside" template 99% of the league uses. Truth be told, I can't answer this one. I'm in the inverse situation as you, in that I'm only familiar with hockey aesthetics and I'm clueless on most every other sport. Everybody above me had solid analyses, but I hope these visuals helped solidify what's already been said.

As long as they retire those terrible chrome helmets, I'm a fan. It makes sense for the Golden Knights to wear gold, and I'm honestly surprised they didn't go with these from the get-go.

I think it feels off in a good way. Kinda like the Avs’ blue breezers. It feels weird, but still looks good. In the ensuing thread after the Avs announced the blue breezers, someone said that the blue shorts looked better but the black shorts felt better, and I agreed. I think the Sharks are in a similar spot. Just a couple weeks ago in another, unrelated thread — now a few years removed from the switch — someone shared a graphic someone had made with black pants instead of blue and said something along the lines of “This is weird. The black pants don’t feel better anymore.” Again, I agreed. I think the Sharks will also be in a similar spot in a few years.

says the guy who claimed i was saying “never look backwards” when i literally said we should use the past as a basis for the future. good job derailing a sensible uniform thread into a meaningless semantics argument. you seem to have a knack for it. let’s cut it with this pointless arguing over nothing and get back to the jerseys, alright?

You’re literally just misinterpreting what I said. If you go back to the original post, none of the teams I referenced did an LA Rams gradient-type move. The Leafs, Bruins, Sharks, Avs, and (formerly) Hurricanes all did classical looks with modern touches that looked good and stayed within traditional design norms. Let me spell it out here even more clearly for you: I want teams to do classically-inspired looks that aren’t just direct throwbacks. I’d rather see teams exercise some creativity while honoring the past — like the Sharks, for example — than just slapping an old jersey on a new template like the Coyotes, Sabres, Canes, Islanders, Penguins, etc. You can’t just go “Well I know that’s not what you’re saying but I want it to be what you’re saying because I disagree with it!!!!”

This is such a misguided take. "Never look backwards" is the equivalent of limiting yourself. A team should consider everything. From the current look to the past to potential future designs. Everything should be on the table. Refusing to consider past identities, when they might be the best option, in the name of some self-limiting design ideology is dumb to me. What? My literal next sentence was “I'd much rather see teams build on their identities while honoring the past.” I then rattled off a handful of teams that have done new looks inspired by past designs. How did you get “Never look backwards” from that? Talk about a misguided take.

I don’t understand how people are complaining about the Sharks keeping the orange in the logo but are also pining for these jerseys to make a return: How come one team gets a pass for using a color only in the logo but another team is getting chastised for it?

"What looks dated about them?" he says, before rattling off half the reasons they look dated. They're not bad jerseys by any means, but I'd much rather see them stick with their Adidas jerseys. About a third of the league has adopted direct thowbacks full time. Slapping an old jersey on a new template is boring, lazy, and uninspired if you ask me. I'd much rather see teams build on their identities while honoring the past like the Sharks, Avs, Bruins, Leafs, and (formerly) Canes have. The Canes were one of the best-looking teams in the league with their Adidas jerseys, and it sucks to see them throw it away — especially in favor of that ugly-as-sin black jersey.

Sorry to double post, but... The Islanders have formally unveiled their 50th Anniversary patch. No Chromaflex as initially predicted, and it looks much better than I was expecting.

As nice as it is to have these back, I still much prefer the Adidas-era red jerseys. These were fine in the 2000s, but they look a little dated by today's standards.

That teal gear looks fantastic. Love the fauxback/Golden Seals vibes.

Those are also the people the league designs jerseys for. They don't design every jersey within the strict guidelines of Sportslogos snobs like you and I, they design them to target the general populace. If hockey fans like stealth jerseys and reversible Maple Leafs alternates, then that's what the league will design. If hockey fans hate jersey ads and they express their dismay, then the league will probably (hopefully) listen to that too.

That Bruins-inspired alternate is clean as hell.

You really must not be paying attention to the comment sections on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and every other social media platform right now. Even the *normies* who aren't on this board hate every jersey ad unveiled thus far and love the Oilers' choice to go ad-free on their jerseys. Helmet ads people don't care about. Nobody is going to the team store and buying a helmet to wear on game days. But jerseys? People are much more passionate about those, both on and off these boards.

All ads are bad. I don't care if they're on the glass, the boards, the ice, the jerseys, the helmets, the three stars, the arena walls, the insides of the penalty boxes, or anywhere else. The increasing omnipresence of advertising has created a constant barrage of visual noise at the expense of aesthetic beauty. Jersey ads are just the latest and most egregious example yet.

They’re removing orange from the color scheme entirely and you’re still complaining? I actually really like this move for the Sharks. It moves the brand forward nicely while still invoking the team’s history. Someone earlier in this thread used “Retreaux” to describe a different jersey, and I like it. I’d much rather see teams taking the Sharks/Leafs approach to rebranding — moving forward while looking back — than see teams take the Coyotes/Flames/Islanders/Oilers/Penguins approach and slapping an old jersey on a new template. Good on the Sharks. More retreaux.

I am once again reviving this thread to post a much-belated concept! This next team was a hard one to work with. The Chicago Wolves have never really had any '90s jerseys, instead keeping their look relatively restrained and traditional. Obviously, I wasn't going to leave one of the IHL's only surviving brands untouched, so I decided to add some flare to the Wolves' identity. I tried to make the Wolves' jerseys feel like both modern and timeless. I decided to zero in on the red/yellow/black color scheme, getting rid of the weird green coloring in the eyes. I also tossed the Chicago flag onto the jerseys' shoulders to help differentiate the club from the Hawks. The alternate is a cream-colored fauxback, again intended to feel like a modern classic. What do you think?

The color scheme is arguably the best thing about those jerseys. It’s unique, it’s eye-grabbing, and it’s undoubtedly D.C. No other city could pull off blue and bronze except the nation’s capital. Red-white-blue is a generic color scheme. Sure, I get using it in D.C., but why not embrace a unique palette instead of one that a fifth of the league uses in some capacity?

The wordmark-less Screagle jerseys would like a word. The white jerseys were a perfect, perfect look. If the blue jerseys had a black cuff and no wordmark, the overall look would've been perfect.

Another Depop score! CCM Kachina for $35. I've now got all three Kachina-era Yotes jerseys. Home, road, and peyote. Each of which was bought for less than $45!

Yeah, the jersey design is nice in a vacuum, but considering the rivalry between Portland and Seattle, it's a pretty confusing choice to rebrand as carbon copies of the Kraken. I don't think anybody's trashing the jerseys as much as they are the decision making behind the jerseys.

I call BS on that. The Scouts had the color palette first, sure, but you don’t incorporate the flag into both your primary and secondary logos by “happy coincidence.”

@CreamSoda when Colorado sports teams embrace being located in Colorado

So why are you complaining about a team catering to its own fanbase?