2014-2015 NHL Jersey/Logo Changes

[BrianLion]

I think the coolest thing about the Devils throwbacks was the red helmets with the jersey. Nowadays uniform designers think the helmets have to match the darker-colored (usually) hockey pants on all home uni's, but back in the day teams like the Devils, Capitals, and North Stars (circa 1991) had a helmet that matched the lighter jersey and not the pants and it looked great. Only team that really pulls that off currently is the Rangers and to a lesser extent the Jackets.

The Stars current home set would look killer with a kelly green helmet, and the Preds in a gold helmet at home would be pretty sweet.

[Sport]

I think the coolest thing about the Devils throwbacks was the red helmets with the jersey. Nowadays uniform designers think the helmets have to match the darker-colored (usually) hockey pants on all home uni's, but back in the day teams like the Devils, Capitals, and North Stars (circa 1991) had a helmet that matched the lighter jersey and not the pants and it looked great. Only team that really pulls that off currently is the Rangers and to a lesser extent the Jackets.

The Stars current home set would look killer with a kelly green helmet, and the Preds in a gold helmet at home would be pretty sweet.

I prefer black.

[monkeypower]

I prefer the pants and helmet to be the darkest colour on the jersey and they match.

The pants can be the lighter colour but the helmet has to be the darkest colour if the team goes that route. (a la Rangers and Blue Jackets).

[RollTribe19]

Gloves match the helmet, which also matches the pants. That's kinda my rule with outfitting our teams. That is, of course, omitted with a white helmet. It definitely looks the sharpest. The Rangers are a perfect example of how you can find ways around it. However, the gloves and pants both include red and blue, so it doesn't look out of place with the helmet. They would look worse with a red helmet.

[Diamond Dweller]

There are a few things that make the red and green work for the Devils. The first is that the team is named after the Jersey Devil, not Lucifer, so the fire and brimstone associated with red and black isn't necessarily fitting. The Jersey Devil is said to live in the heavily wooded parts of the state, so the green fits. The colours also reflect the state's Italian population, which is a nice bonus. All of that on top of it just being a really sharp combo.

The red and black also work, though. That too is a great combo (if a bit overused), and the organization has seen its greatest success in those colours. Whereas they were, well, a Mickey Mouse operation in red and green. And there's the wonderful block font they've used in the red and black era.

As I said, I can go either way. I prefer red and black just a bit more because of the success associated with the look, but I wouldn't shed a tear if they went with red and green, or even adopted it as a full-time alternate.

I agree with this. The Devils' current set is pretty good. I'd prefer to have them in red in green if not for their entire franchise relevance and three Stanley Cups coming in red and black. At this point, they've established themselves as red and black. That combo is entirely oversaturated, but we'll deal with it. Make the freaking Hurricanes change colors.

Also, the stripes on the red throwback jersey are awful. The white jersey looked good - a thick green stripe with a thick red stripe a few inches below it. However, they didn't swap out the red for white on the red jersey. Instead, they tried outlining the white jersey's pattern in white. So the red jersey looks like it has white-green-white stripes with a detached white stripe floating beneath them. Also, they should have flipped the sleeve stripes so they matched the body stripes.

This x1000. I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates that. It just looks sloppy, and makes the uniform look extremely dated (not that that kind of striping was even acceptable for the time)

The red and green color scheme was fine and all, but red and black just feels right for them. The Blackhawks have a multicolour logo, the Hurricanes use silver, the Flames need to stop using black (besides possibly as trim) ASAP, so I feel it's best for them.

[Sport]

Among the many reasons this looked terrible was the blue lid on top of these black uniforms.

Your helmet should always be as dark as your darkest element (except for white helmets worn with white jerseys/socks) or it looks weird.

[BigBubba]

I've always wondered why nobody wears coloured helmets with white jerseys. I know we're all used to white helmets with white jerseys, but it would make sense that if the helmet and pants match on one uniform, they should match on its inverse. I don't think it looks half-bad, actually:

[TheOldRoman]

Aren't teams required to wear white helmets with the road jerseys?

[RollTribe19]

I've always wondered why nobody wears coloured helmets with white jerseys. I know we're all used to white helmets with white jerseys, but it would make sense that if the helmet and pants match on one uniform, they should match on its inverse. I don't think it looks half-bad, actually:

Well white helmets with white jerseys is mostly an NHL thing. It helps guarantee a contrast in helmet color, which you could look at that as helping for TV, or whether it's for helping the referee, but I think it works and looks good. White buckets with facemasks is what looks weird. The team I coach wears white buckets at home and I hate it, cuz we are a high school, and just doesn't look right. I know their are a handful of college and junior teams that wear white helmets with white jerseys, but I think that's just become a trend, and more affordable over time. North Dakota wears green helmets and pants at home and black helmets and pants on the road....which I must say in my opinion is the way to do it. But it works for them, I dont know how it would look in the NHL. I couldn't picture the Stars wearing green helmets and pants on the whites.

[TorinK92]

Aren't teams required to wear white helmets with the road jerseys?

Not by the letter of the law:

Section 3 - Equipment

9.6 Helmets - All players of both teams shall wear a helmet of design, material and construction approved by the League at all times while participating in a game, either on the playing surface or the players’ or penalty benches.

It's pretty common in the outdoor games to see the white team wear a coloured helmet (i.e. 2009 Detroit, 2011 Washington, 2012 Rangers, 2014 Ottawa, etc.)

Ottawa wore their white heritage classic sweater two more times in the regular season while wearing a black helmet (both against Montreal), but I think Washington had to change their helmet to white when they changed their WC sweater to a full-time alternate. So it looks like the league is mostly against it.

I don't think the league would be willing to make it happen right now, but with it becoming a trend in the minors and one-off uniforms, the floodgates could potentially open sometime in the future. [same thing could be said for colour vs colour matchups]

[MDGP]

I tend to agree with the assessment that darker helmets work best, but I think there are a couple that work really well at the college level (and maybe that's just a college aesthetic thing).

I generally don't like Notre Dame's uniforms (not because of the helmet), but this one looked great.

I can't really imagine Penn State going with a blue helmet with the road uniforms. (They do it with the alts, but that's because the white one could never work with a grey jersey and blue pants).

I also find that Ohio State's silver helmets look better than black would.

Finally, Minnesota. I'm sure these would look fine with maroon, but I love the way the yellow helmet looks. BC used to do the same thing.

[nash61]

USA Hockey does it too, and I like it.

[Morgan33]

The devils current jerseys with green replacing black would be incredible. The 1993 redesign improved everything except the colour scheme.

[RollTribe19]

I tend to agree with the assessment that darker helmets work best, but I think there are a couple that work really well at the college level (and maybe that's just a college aesthetic thing).

I generally don't like Notre Dame's uniforms (not because of the helmet), but this one looked great.

I can't really imagine Penn State going with a blue helmet with the road uniforms. (They do it with the alts, but that's because the white one could never work with a grey jersey and blue pants).

I also find that Ohio State's silver helmets look better than black would.

Finally, Minnesota. I'm sure these would look fine with maroon, but I love the way the yellow helmet looks. BC used to do the same thing.

Every team here, with the exception of Minnesota, does it to mimic the football helmets. It's a B1G thing.

[TorinK92]

The devils current jerseys with green replacing black would be incredible. The 1993 redesign improved everything except the colour scheme.

I wouldn't mind it as an alternate at all. But IMO the Devils are one of the teams that can pull off Black and Red really well (Along with the Hawks)

If green were to make a comeback, I'd like to see the red darkened to avoid the 'christmas' connotation. But then they'd run the risk of being 'Wild East'.

[RollTribe19]

USA Hockey does it too, and I like it.

When you're limited to one helmet you kind of have to make the best of it.

They don't wear navy blue because the color varies slightly from company to company.

[FinsUp1214]

There are a few things that make the red and green work for the Devils. The first is that the team is named after the Jersey Devil, not Lucifer, so the fire and brimstone associated with red and black isn't necessarily fitting. The Jersey Devil is said to live in the heavily wooded parts of the state, so the green fits. The colours also reflect the state's Italian population, which is a nice bonus. All of that on top of it just being a really sharp combo.

The red and black also work, though. That too is a great combo (if a bit overused), and the organization has seen its greatest success in those colours. Whereas they were, well, a Mickey Mouse operation in red and green. And there's the wonderful block font they've used in the red and black era.

As I said, I can go either way. I prefer red and black just a bit more because of the success associated with the look, but I wouldn't shed a tear if they went with red and green, or even adopted it as a full-time alternate.

You make some fair points (especially the Jersey Devil point), thanks for the insight! I still feel though personally that red and green just doesn't look right to me (for them at least). Those particular shades just seem too...light to me. Even considering the Jersey Devil connection, I still feel like the team should look intimidating and that red and green just doesn't fit that bill to me personally. Like I said, I think green could work for them if it were a dark, dark pine-ish green (could help with the woods connection too). But I strongly prefer the black and red instead.

[BrianLion]

Among the many reasons this looked terrible was the blue lid on top of these black uniforms.

Your helmet should always be as dark as your darkest element (except for white helmets worn with white jerseys/socks) or it looks weird.

Helmets that tie into the jersey color look fine and they have a good flow to them. Your example above looks bad because there's almost no blue anywhere on the jerseys outside of trim and it sticks out like a sore thumb

However the look can be (and has been) done right. .

This is a decent look for a team:

as is this

darker helmets in both cases would've made the overall look of the uni's a lot more drab

[Sport]

Minnesota is fine because I'm used to it and it fits the college aesthetic.

I know why the Caps made that choice, but a navy helmet on top that darker red would've been a nice cap (pun intended) and completed the whole thing. It would've provided more balance to the uniform.

[The_Admiral]

Still waiting for these:

My ideal Minnesota North Stars color scheme except with green helmets