McCarthy's NHL

[Sport]

I've had a running concept folder on my desktop for years with ideas about I feel each NHL team should dress. I'm finally getting around to posting them. If you don't see a team that's because I think their uniforms are fine as is and don't require changes.

Enjoy.

First up: the Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning are one of the great missed opportunities in sports right now. Not only do they wear Maple Leafs and Red Wings hybrid knockoffs, but the opportunity cost of them wearing the knockoffs is that they aren’t wearing one of the many options a name like Lightning provides. That nickname is flush with creative gold and they’re pretending they’re not a 1990’s expansion team in Florida.

The solution: I posted some version of this concept almost ten years ago and I think it still holds up today. Black and blue is a unique color scheme in the NHL and nobody since the late 90’s Capitals has (full-time) worn blue jerseys and socks bracketed by black helmets and pants. The ‘ning do this with their alternates, but those BOLTS jerseys leave a lot to be desired. I took the concept of their original jersey’s yoke and reversed it finishing with two lightning bolts pointing at the neckline so that finally they’ll wear some bolts on their home and road uniforms. I used the 2007 logos because that was the closest they ever got to having a decent primary logo and I think it’s the strongest representation of their nickname to date, plus that secondary logo with Florida is terrific. Finished with their trademark bolt on the pants and matched the sock striping to the hem stripe.

I feel this utilizes their colors best and the bold lines will stand out better than their BOLTS alternate.

NOT EVERY UNIFORM WILL COME WITH THIS LONG OF A DESCRIPTION.

THANKS!

[Sport]

The Avalanches had one of the biggest edge uni disaster downgrades of anyone in 2007 and they’re still wearing them today. They had great uniforms during their Stanley Cup heyday, but even then I think they were sporting one too many colors. Burgundy, blue, silver, and black is a big color palette and I’ve always thought they should trim it by at least one of those colors. Because burgundy and blue is more interesting than burgundy and black I dropped black. Problem is their blue is so light that it doesn’t work that well without that black buffer. Solution: darken the blue to navy, it works in the same capacity as black, but still glistens and isn’t as flat as black.

And obviously I’ve restored their signature mountain pattern that they never should’ve dropped in the first place.

[Sport]

I think the Stars hit a home run with their new uniforms, but it wasn't a tape measure shot. It barely cleared the fence. Here’s what I would do to turn this thing into a Mickey Mantle, out of the park, 500 foot grand slam.

The laceup collar is unnecessary so I dropped that in favor of a standard dual colored collar on both jerseys. This small element helps the uniform feel more modern. I also flipped the striping on the green jersey so it doesn’t look like an almost identical template from those awful Blackhawks St Patricks day uniforms that goofballs in Chicago wear. The yoke on the white jersey is now rounded off instead of square, both jerseys now use the Texas secondary logo because it’s better than the roundel in every way, and the numbers are now outlined so they don’t look unfinished.

[YMolina4]

I've always been a fan of classic looking jerseys, so I do like the new Lightning ones. That said, your design for them is really well done. I wouldn't mind at all if they wore those.

Really like the small adjustments you made to the Dallas home jersey, very nice.

[Htown1141]

When I first saw "McCarthy's NHL", I first thought this would be like where you get rid of red in every team's color scheme, have stars everywhere, , etc. But instead, I open up this concept to a really cool template and amazing uniforms so far. AND ONLY THEN did that I see that the OP's name is McCarthy. Great Job dude, keep it up! (or else the commies will get you)

[Midway]

Those Lightning sweaters are interesting. I'm not sure how the shoulder bolts would look in action but I really like the creativity of extending the stripe through the back and the color blocking works well with it. It's the kind of originality we should be seeing more of around here.

[New York's Greatest]

I like Colorado's

[Sport]

Up next, the red and black teams.

The NHL has an overload of red and black teams so the Senators, Hurricanes, Flames, Blackhawks, and Devils should all strive to do more than they do to differentiate themselves from each other. Most of what I've done with these teams was trying to give them more of their own look. I left the Devils and Blackhawks as is.

The Senators wear some of the most templatey, generic nonsense in the league and they're choosing to wear a setup that is already owned and done by two other teams (Chicago and New Jersey). Here I have them owning the position as the BLACK and red team, plus that delicious rich gold they have. Also, they have the historical benefit of a very cool design feature that they do basically nothing with - the barberpole.

I put an emphasis on barberpole, but chose not to continue it on the back because I don't like how their stripes interrupt the number on their current alternates. I think this choice, along with the offset gold on the numbers adds a subtle modern element. I also used that great profile senator logo they never use on the shoulders in place of the O to link some consistency to the primary crest logo and to drop even more gold into the uni. There will be no mistaking you're seeing Ottawa's team when you flip on the game.

[Sport]

The Hurricanes. What is there to say about the Hurricanes' current uniforms? They lack character, they're inconsistent home to road, they're bland as can be, and they stripped it completely of its identifying characteristics.

First things first, the primary swirl logo has been relegated to secondary status. The secondary flag logo has always been way stronger, and has a regional tie-in with the triangle. The only change I've made is to upgrade the flag from tropical storm to actual hurricane warning by adding a second flag.

Second, if you're going to dress in head to skate red you're going to have to do something to differentiate yourselves from the league's famous all-red team, the Red Wings. Their cup uniforms used to do this, but their current uniforms make no attempt at all, and in fact are probably trying to resemble the Wings a little. So to avoid looking like Detroit and to set themselves apart from the other red and black teams I suggest the Hurricanes emphasize red and silver. I've restored the hurricane flags on the bottom hem to reinforce the new primary logo, and as a nod to their late Whaler days I've given them gray forearm stripes. Also, the nascar numbers are back. I always thought that was the perfect font for a team in nascar country named after a weather event known for blowing winds (hence the italics).

[Morgan33]

Lightning:
First off kudos on recognizing the potential in their original colour scheme and using it accordingly. The road uniform in particular, looks spectacular and I wholeheartedly agree with the decision to use the 2007 logos. One suggestion I would make concerns the blue uniform. I think adding some white to the striping would put it over the top. Perhaps in-between the grey and black. I love the grey bolts running up the shoulders.

Avalanche:

Recognize this concept from Avalanche uniform discussions in the past. This is a great solution for what many believe is convoluted colour palette. While, I'm not sure I like it more than the original mountain range set, it still looks great on its own merits. Huge improvement over the current debacle.

Stars:
The Home jersey looks really nice. The striping suits the logos and the decision to use the Texas patch was a good one. I just wish the road version had the same striping pattern. Green bands outlined in black would look great and provide a more consistent look.

[jrcollis714]

Nice job.

[Carolingian Steamroller]

Very cool idea for the Canes. I always liked the silver features on the Preds but it didn't fit with that team. On the 'Canes its absolutely perfect! Nobody has figured this out, my complements. Throw in the double flag crest and its a total winner.

[Sport]

Thanks for the feedback! Keep it coming and I'll try to implement some of it.

I know a lot of people hate the idea of the Flames using black, but I like it for them.

These are basically their 2004 uniforms with the western style yoke from the current third (except it’s rounded off instead of squared) and the killer secondary logo from the thirds because that logo is too good for just one jersey. The flags are gone, the side stripes are gone, the piping's gone, the nonsensical sock striping is gone. It's a more cohesive, thoughtful look without so many things going on all at once like their current uniforms.

Also, I left the numbers black on the white jersey because I always felt like the black pants stuck out too much with so little black on the jersey. It’s the same concept as why the Avs (above) have blue numbers on their white jerseys – so the pants have an element to connect with and it better ties the uniform together.

[Sport]

The Blues were so close when they changed their uniforms last offseason. The only things I would've done differently: angled the sleeve stripes, went royal blue dominant on the whites, and I closed the gaps on the stripes, and fixed the consistency issues with the socks.

[Dayne Amaze]

This is such an enjoyable series so far.. Your excellent writing and descriptions only make these awesome concepts even more pleasing to look through! I am a big fan of each and every one of your uniforms. Keep it up, please!

[TylerG]

Those Blues uniforms are perfect. Great job.

[chcarlson23]

Blues concept is fire...

[Sport]

The Weagle takes center stage because that thing has primary logo written all over it. It definitely deserves promotion over that weak lowercase script of theirs.

The striping is conventional, but slightly modern which fits the Capitals' not quite original 6, but also old enough to have some history of their own status. It's why their modern edge uniforms have never felt quite right on them. And I threw in some stars because every Capitals uniform should have stars. Here the stars are contained within the stripes which makes for a cleaner look than the throwback uniforms.

[TheRealPepman]

McCarthy, I noticed that the numbers for the Flames' road jersey don't have a red outline. Did you do that on purpose?

And please use the new Reebok logo.

Other than that, great work!

[biscuit faces of them]

Just saw this thread and so far so good. Love with you did with the stripes on Ottawa. Can't wait for the sharks