spartacat_12

Give it another 5-10 years.

I doubt they'll have every team raise a banner. Gretzky's number is retired NHL-wide, but the Oilers & Kings are the only teams with a 99 in the rafters. Retiring a number across a whole league went relatively smoothly for baseball & hockey because those players were synonymous with their respective numbers. This is different because Russell is arguably not even the best player to wear the number. If you did a poll of basketball fans and asked, "who is the first player who comes to mind when you think of the number 6?", some would say Russell, some would say Dr. J, and some would say Lebron. I think a better honour would've been to alter the NBA logo to include Russell & Jerry West, maybe facing off for a jump ball. Having both a black & white player represented would highlight the work Russell did towards the civil rights movement, plus it would be a tribute to the league's most historic rivalry.

Of course Twitter is full of Vegas hockey haters rejoicing at the news .

I'd say it's closer to Chicago than Detroit. It's basically a Blackhawks sweater with the white sleeve stripe extended to the wrist. Grey was definitely the better choice, considering it's the one colour the Whalers & Canes have both used. Upon a closer look at that prototype graphic I noticed a few other differences from what we ended up with. It shows the Devils jersey having red numbers instead of white, the Knights wearing white gloves, the Pens, Ducks, Wild, and Avs all pairing dark helmets with white jerseys, with the Avs in black pants & helmets instead of burgundy.

Some other highlights for people who might not be able to watch the video just yet: Oilers going with a white version of the McFarlane jersey with orange trim (most likely replacing the silver) Jets will use the WHA design again, this time with aviator blue replacing the red (might be a navy base or an aviator blue base) Kraken won't be doing a Metropolitans throwback, but will take inspiration from another one of the city's former pro teams

I thought that a white helmet might look ok, but the logo is just too white-heavy for it to work. On another note, the Rams held their celebrity flag football game the other day, and the pictures show how much better the yellow numbers look without the awful gradient, sublimated design, & fruit roll-up texture.

I've thought for a while this would be a good route to go for a modernized throwback look, but it really doesn't fit with the rest of the current uniform. They should use this jersey as inspiration, either for a new primary set, or an alternate.

It also helps that Minnesota essentially invented what we think of as a "fauxback" uniform. When they unveiled their original red alternate, stuff like cream/vintage white coloured numbers and a felt roundel logo were unique & original. They even extended this branding to the All Star Game uniforms they hosted. Now that every Winter Classic involves some sort of cream fauxback look it feels a little overdone, but it does make sense for Minnesota, regardless of when they were formed.

It might have just been in Canadian restaurants, but in the '90s McDonalds sold plush Muppet NHL All Star collectibles.

The new outfield patio areas won't be ticketed. They will just be standing room areas that anyone in the stadium can watch the game from, similar to the Flight Deck. Maybe if they're hosting a playoff game they'll sell SRO tickets for that area, but they would literally be the most affordable option. The stadium itself will never be perfect, but it's in a perfect location. The two options for a new stadium would be to either build in a much less convenient spot, or to find a temporary home for 4-5 years while they teardown the dome and build on the same spot. They're also replacing the entire lower bowl. The seats along the foul lines will be reconfigured to actually face the plate, instead of facing center field like they currently do. You can see a bit of what it will look like on the right side of the second rendering.

Glad they're getting the bone games out of the way early. Hopefully Week 3 is the last we ever see of it.

I mean there is one solution.

Late last year the Blue Jays announced they would continue to try and upgrade their stadium with a $300 million renovation project. They have released renderings of what the changes will look like, specifically to the outfield. The big changes are raised bullpens, adjustments to the wall (including moving seats right up against it), and replacing the upper deck seats with more standing room/bleacher-style/patio seating. It's never going to be a classic ballpark, but this is definitely a big improvement.

They've already ruined the NBA, and are in the process of ruining the NFL & MLB with the alternate helmets and city connect stuff. Why wouldn't they take a shot at ruining the NHL now that most of the teams look better than they ever have.

I mean the stripped down Coyotes look was almost identical to the Maroons lol.

But can't they just say that white over black is their primary uniform and the all white is the alternate? Isn't that how the Panthers are getting away with pairing the black helmet & black uniform?

I don't think the insect theme was even on their mind when they came up with the name. According to the team, this is the official meaning behind the name. Having a bug logo/mascot was something added after the fact. They already had to stretch the logic to think "blue jackets is sort of like yellow jackets, which are a type of wasp". It was just the way sports branding was done in the NHL when it came to new teams in the '90s/early-'00s. The Sharks broke merchandise sale records when they launched, so the league wanted teams following that model. Ottawa's original Peace Tower wordmark was rejected by the league because they didn't think it would sell well with kids, so they had to come up with the gladiator. The rest of the new teams either had an animal mascot/logo (Ducks, Panthers, Coyotes, Thrashers, Predators, Wild), or some sort of extreme weather brand (Lightning, Avalanche, Hurricanes).

The Oilers have never worn black. The most recent alternate was navy blue, and was the same shade that they used on their regular jersey.

It would be a correction if these were replacing the current away look, but they're going to be alternating between both. It would be like if the Chargers decided to bring back the powder blue throwbacks to wear alongside their powder blue, throwback-inspired primaries.

At least these all use different coloured numbers from the primary to try and mix things up. It was obvious when the Bengals rebranded that they were basing the set on the colour rush design. I'm sure they wanted to use the white helmet with the updated set, but that would be too simple for the NFL.

These alternate helmets have introduced a lot of ridiculous design elements to this league, but the fact that both of these uniforms are going to be worn in the same season makes no sense. Different helmets aside, this must be the most redundant alternate jersey I think I've seen.

I can't really get a read on the Canucks fanbase as far as what they want. It seems like they're never happy with what they have, and no matter what the current look they just want some sort of throwback. It seemed like the switch back to royal & green 15 years ago was a unanimous hit, but all of a sudden in the last few years people want to bring back the skate logo full time. On twitter I've even started seeing some replies hoping for a return to the West Coast Express era colour scheme.

Icethetics is reporting that the Devils will be going with a white Kansas City Scouts-inspired look for their RR. They mention it could be the Scouts jersey in Devils colours, or maybe the Devils logo will get the KC colour treatment. My guess would be the top design but with the Devils primary logo. I'm sure they want to avoid any potential controversy that might come with bringing using Indigenous imagery as a logo. I know it's an actual statue, but I'd think they would just play it safe. And I don't know how Devils fans would feel about their logo in Rangers colours.

I mean they had to trade away McDonagh and let Palat walk for nothing. And I like Nick Paul, but giving a 27 year old 3rd liner an 8 year deal in order to get the cap hit down isn't always the best long term strategy.

I've said it before, but I think the late-'60s/early-'70s Giants look balances the best elements of the current look and the throwback/colour rush look. The ny logo on the helmet and the single layer numbers, plus a proper balance of blue on the white jersey. Maybe just add the GIANTS wordmark below the collar.