2020-2021 NHL Changes

[BeerGuyJordan]

2 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

The Jets jersey is just boring, but when your competition is Detroit, Dallas and the Islanders all making really disappointing efforts, "boring" is hardly that much of a problem.

Right on. I think the operative word for the Jets would be underwhelming, or uninspired. They aren't bad, they're just ho-hum. I think they fall pretty far down the list, but that's in part because the overall initiative turned out pretty well.

[The_Admiral]

The Jets do it to themselves by forcing a double-blue/silver palette with only minimal red. Using red sparingly, but more than minimally, would go a long way in making things more engaging. Or just dropping midnight blue, that would help as well.

[Prince Harry]

Funnily enough, the Isles’ low-effort RR might still contend for the best alternate jersey they’ve ever had. 

[monkeypower]

The Isles could have brought back this little number, just flipping the orange and blue, socks and all.

 

[Ridleylash]

8 minutes ago, Prince Harry said:

Funnily enough, the Isles’ low-effort RR might still contend for the best alternate jersey they’ve ever had. 

When your best competition is "fisherman jersey with the original logo", "orange with navy daggers pointing at the player's torso", "BFBS Mets on Ice" or "black and white with minimal striping", there's not a whole lot of competition there.

 

Should've done the Fisherman, but Lou is the kind of man who hates things like mustaches on his young players or people wearing high numbers on their jersey who aren't long in the tooth themselves.

[WSU151]

6 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

The Isles could have brought back this little number, just flipping the orange and blue, socks and all.

 

 

A navy version with no yoke would be pretty good No real reason to have a yoke, especially one without an outline.  

[Corvus]

31 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

Right on. I think the operative word for the Jets would be underwhelming, or uninspired. They aren't bad, they're just ho-hum. I think they fall pretty far down the list, but that's in part because the overall initiative turned out pretty well.

 

The Jet's jersey was one I meant to mention. It's literally dull, The colour palette is just very bleak. Swapping the white with the sliver would help I think?

[habsfan1]

If I had to pick one winner for the best Reverse Retro, it is, without a doubt, the Nashville Predators:

 

 

Honorable mentions to the Vegas Golden Knights and the Tampa Bay Lightning for bringing back the Victory Stripes. I could see TB using that near exact jersey with the current crest on it. It would fit well and it would finally set them apart from the Leafs.

[imawalkingcorpse]

That Whalers one is awesome.

[Ridleylash]

21 minutes ago, imawalkingcorpse said:

That Whalers one is awesome.

Eeeeeh...I'm getting real sick of Dundon and crew using the Whalers for everything "retro". This would've been a perfect chance to bring back the '06 jerseys in black, but no we had to get another goddamned Whalers jersey. Because the horse needed more bruises.

 

What, are we going to see them do navy, silver, white and green versions of the 90's Whalers jerseys before touching the part of their history that spans more years? Are they just desperately cloying for Connecticut to enjoy the Canes? We get it, you came from Hartford, but at this point it's coming off less as "celebrating the heritage" and more "we've realized Whalers gear sells a :censored:load so we're gonna spam it".

[daniel75]

Can’t believe the Sabres didn’t put that beautiful Buffalo head on their crest. The clear winners for me are the Wild, Devils, Habs and Canes. And the Ducks are the obvious losers, although the hipsters (we like things cause they’re ugly) will love em I’m sure. Also that Caps jersey is WAY better then what they’re currently wearing.

[Ridleylash]

3 minutes ago, daniel75 said:

Can’t believe the Sabres didn’t put that beautiful Buffalo head on their crest. The clear winners for me are the Wild, Devils, Habs and Canes. And the Ducks are the obvious losers, although the hipsters (we like things cause they’re ugly) will love em I’m sure.

Eh, the Ducks at least had the guts to go full steam with something totally kitschy and yet still friggin' amazing in how absurd it is. The Islanders' Reverse looks like they spent all of a minute hurriedly recoloring a home jersey in MS Paint because they realized they hadn't submitted a concept to Adidas and today's the deadline.

 

I'd honestly say the Canes made out worse. At least the Ducks aren't ignoring their own selection in favor of yet more cosplay as a prior team.

[The_Admiral]

7 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

Eeeeeh...I'm getting real sick of Dundon and crew using the Whalers for everything "retro". This would've been a perfect chance to bring back the '06 jerseys in black, but no we had to get another goddamned Whalers jersey.

 

At this point when it comes to Hurricanes fans, I think irony-poisoned know-it-alls from out of town outnumber people from Raleigh-Durham. The real point of buying Whalers stuff now is to rub it in Hartford fans' faces that their team isn't coming back, that something that was cool for having been abandoned and forgotten has been reclaimed by that which abandoned it in the first place. It's like the kid in the sandbox who suddenly needs the dump truck he wasn't playing with as soon as you want it.

[imawalkingcorpse]

10 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

Eeeeeh...I'm getting real sick of Dundon and crew using the Whalers for everything "retro". This would've been a perfect chance to bring back the '06 jerseys in black, but no we had to get another goddamned Whalers jersey. Because the horse needed more bruises.

 

What, are we going to see them do navy, silver, white and green versions of the 90's Whalers jerseys before touching the part of their history that spans more years? Are they just desperately cloying for Connecticut to enjoy the Canes? We get it, you came from Hartford, but at this point it's coming off less as "celebrating the heritage" and more "we've realized Whalers gear sells a :censored:load so we're gonna spam it".

The black ones would have been pretty cool as well, especially if they used the 97-00 logo.

[BeerGuyJordan]

Not that anyone here is likely to really care, but here's my write-up of all 31:

Anaheim: Not perfect, but a solid addition to the line up by taking a chance on a publicly maligned look that is beloved by a fair number of fans.

Arizona: There was only one logical option for the Coyotes to try, and it was this one. I’m not a fan of the original, but if you liked that, you should love this. Not my cup of tea (even though I love the kachinas), but it looks great for what it is.

Boston: Without going full Pooh Bear, there was no way to get out of rehashing looks we’ve seen tweaked over and over through the years. The white cuffs are more true to the template, but black would have elevated the look more. Still, there hasn’t been a yellow sweater with black since the O6 days, so this was a good move for the Bruins.

Buffalo: This isn’t in my top tier, but Buffalo fans should be ecstatic with it. I’ll never understand their ’96 to ’10 identity crisis, but this alt should take some of the sting out of moves that arguably never should have happened.

Calgary: I never liked this logo, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. It’s good for what it is, and they get points for dipping into the only real variation on an otherwise pretty steady look, but I still don’t care for it.

Carolina: This is a good look. It’s going to sell better than a jersey based on their stint in Raleigh ever would. I would have preferred a red heavy take on the single square flag, but I don’t really have any problems with more of what is probably the best logo the league has ever had.

Chicago: With all of the times they’ve dipped into their limited retro options for Winter Classics, this one just doesn’t feel special. That said, it’s a solid look the fans should feel good about.

Colorado: I’m surprised to see so much restraint in a Colorado jersey, but this look is great. I don’t expect many with Quebec nostalgia will pass this one up.

Columbus: This one isn’t bad, IMO. It just doesn’t feel right on the Blue Jackets. I would have preferred to see stinger on the shoulders. I think this one gets forgotten after RR is over.

Dallas: I get what they were going for, but this look gave us the template without any of the heart. They get better marks than the Wings for at least trying something and missing the mark, but it's easily in my bottom two.

Detroit: Easily the worst for me. Granted they have only had one look since inception, but this is just bad. They didn’t even swing and miss either. They would have been better off playing around with the pre-Wings identities, even though that keg has been well-tapped for outdoor games.

Edmonton: Nothing bad here, but nothing exciting either. They should have tried this look in orange or gone bold with the 2001 alt.

Florida: This doesn’t hit home with me, but I’ll admit it is a great offering that the fanbase should be happy with.

Las Vegas: Having them be the only team sitting out would have been weird, and I’m okay with the direction they took. A solid offering.

Los Angeles: This jersey is one of the best here. I understand that given when they won their cups, the Kings are probably going to remain in silver and black. That said, they need to embrace these classic colors as a full-time alternate. A great jersey that’s going to attract sales from within and without of their fanbase. It’d be perfect with a tweak to the numbers.

Minnesota: The stars fully own the North Stars stuff, so a recolor of the bear head was the closest we were going to see to a jersey from their stint. Still, this is a good look that I think the fanbase is going to buy like hotcakes.

Montreal: Look, this recolor may be a cliché of every person’s first crack at concepts on this board, but it is so for a reason. It’s a great look from a team without may options. A sweater I think would be a worthy full-time alt.

Nashville: I worry I’m being a homer, but I actually like this one. The Preds are a team that I don’t think has ever had a great home set. Given what they were working with, it’s solid and better than their current primaries. With a few tweaks, I’d be happy seeing this as a full-time look (their current homes are awful).

New Jersey: Bravo, gorgeous. I want one. That is all.

NY Islanders: This is probably the most boring of the bunch for me. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that it played it safe, to a fault. Whiffing on Fishsticks would have landed better, for me.

NY Rangers: While I love seeing the Liberty Head come back, I would have liked to see them not play it so safe. Nothing wrong with the look. It’s a great look, they just lose points for unoriginality with me. It's not even really a reverse retro, just tweaking the arms on the original. It would have been better to try their hand at a red base. I still kinda want one, though. The logo is that good.

Ottawa: A really good take on the brief. I would rather have seen them try to be a little more adventurous, but this is still a solid sweater.

Philadelphia: Look, I’m not going to pretend I see a huge difference in this from the other versions of their fairly steady look. When you get it right from the start, it’s going to leave you with limited options short of going Quakers. Nothing exciting, but certainly not bad.

Pittsburgh: Solid. Not adventurous, but if you’re going to play it safe, this is a fantastic execution.

San Jose: I’m not sure I really gave much thought to what the Sharks were going to do, but this still underwhelmed. Especially given how many knocked it out of the park. 

St. Louis: The jersey itself is great, it’s just so hard to not be distracted by a red-heavy blues jersey. I don’t think it lives on past the Reverse Retro (nor should it). Not because it looks bad, just because I think it doesn’t work well with the branding, and the original of this one is so perfect.

Tampa Bay: This sweater is one of the best in the bunch, maybe the best. The script might be a little dated to make it a full-time look without using the modern crest, but if the team doesn’t immediately make this a full-time third, they hate aesthetics and money.

Toronto: I’m incredibly underwhelmed by this. Granted, most O6 teams don’t have a plethora of options. It’s right on the line between lackluster and bad, for me.

Vancouver: I would have liked to see them go with something else from their rather extensive list of options. For what it is, I think it’s solid, but probably won’t outlive the initiative.

Washington: I think this look elevates the original. I’d like to see this become at least a full-time alternate. I wouldn’t mind seeing them base a full-time look on this. This is one of the three RR jerseys I’ll probably pick up.

Winnipeg: Boring. I get what they were going for, but the look just feels uninspired.

[WSU151]

8 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

Eh, the Ducks at least had the guts to go full steam with something totally kitschy and yet still friggin' amazing in how absurd it is. The Islanders' Reverse looks like they spent all of a minute hurriedly recoloring a home jersey in MS Paint because they realized they hadn't submitted a concept to Adidas and today's the deadline.

 

I'd honestly say the Canes made out worse. At least the Ducks aren't ignoring their own selection in favor of yet more cosplay as a prior team.

 

FWIW, I believe the teams had very little say in these. There's an article or two from previous leaks about how this was primarily an adidas project, and at least one adidas employee on here confirmed as much. 

[_RH_]

4 hours ago, Beantown77 said:

How can you look at the white cuffs and not see that black was a much better option?

(Talking about Boston) I agree, and I think no cuffs (just yellow) would've been even better.  But to be honest, with gloves on I doubt we'll notice.

 

Buffalo: why do you need grey down on the Hem?!

[Dynasty]

I like Arizona and New Jersey a lot.

 

Detroit is the most underwhelming.

[habsfan1]

Too bad Seattle didn't release a Metropolitans heritage jersey in Kraken colors.

[Webfooter]

Most teams actually got pretty creative with their retro choices but you can tell the lazy ones are those that chose gray jerseys or made such minimal changes that you wouldn't notice the difference.