2020-2021 NHL Changes

[CreamSoda]

Did an example of some in blue gear and some in black.  It really changes the Avs to a BLUE team instead of a burgundy team:

 

[WSU151]

15 minutes ago, CreamSoda said:

Did an example of some in blue gear and some in black.  It really changes the Avs to a BLUE team instead of a burgundy team:

 

 

Visually, it kind of makes the mountains look taller, which I think is cool, but it won't work on the aways unless the sleeves and mountains turn blue as well (which would be a pretty drastic change). 

 

I'm not sure if blue equipment will look better than burgandy, but it probably won't be terrible. 

 

The draft hats didn't hint at this change (all the draft hats had front panels with jersey stripes, and the brims were supposed to be the pants/shorts). 

 

[MinnyHockey]

53 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

At the same time, black was never a prominent color for the Avs anyways, and it really looked like they just grabbed stock equipment, slapped a couple of decals on and called it a day. It's not exactly a huge loss; if anything,  I think just biting the bullet and completely excising the vestigial remnants is the best move overall to get a more cohesive color scheme for the uniform.

 

The Avs don't need black when they can just use navy or slate and be perfectly fine. People are used to it...but that doesn't mean it's good.

Are they changing the black numbers too?

[Osgiliath-Guard]

@CreamSoda, could you do the gloves and helmets in burgundy, just to see? I feel like the blue pants are needed to keep the balance, but the gloves and helms are still contested.

[Ridleylash]

2 minutes ago, MinnyHockey said:

Are they changing the black numbers too?

I assume so, the release mentioned that "several jersey modifications" are coming. I'd imagine they'll be made either navy or burgundy.

[CreamSoda]

8 minutes ago, Osgiliath-Guard said:

@CreamSoda, could you do the gloves and helmets in burgundy, just to see? I feel like the blue pants are needed to keep the balance, but the gloves and helms are still contested.

 

[Ridleylash]

Eeeh, don't like it. I think going slate on both is the right call, because it alternates the dominant color each step (s/b/s/b), while that doesn't (b/b/s/b). Feels a little less balanced out.

[Osgiliath-Guard]

I'd almost say blue helms and gloves with burgundy pants would be the best option.

[CreamSoda]

25 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

Eeeh, don't like it. I think going slate on both is the right call, because it alternates the dominant color each step (s/b/s/b), while that doesn't (b/b/s/b). Feels a little less balanced out.

 

 

Yup!  Agreed.  I think this looks pretty good myself.  Nice balance of both burgundy and blue:

 

 

 

It may look like a lot of color but I think thats just because we are used to the Avs in black.  This will look normal and right in no time.  Just compare it to Montreal, very similar color balance and nobody would think to use black for their pants or helmets...

 

 

 

 

And the aways will look very similar to the Montreal aways with a white and predominately red sweater and blue pants:

 

[Osgiliath-Guard]

20 minutes ago, CreamSoda said:

 

 

Yup!  Agreed.  I think this looks pretty good myself.  Nice balance of both burgundy and blue:

 

 

 

It may look like a lot of color but I think thats just because we are used to the Avs in black.  This will look normal and right in no time.  Just compare it to Montreal, very similar color balance and nobody would think to use black for their pants or helmets...

 

 

 

 

And the aways will look very similar to the Montreal aways with a white and predominately red sweater and blue pants:

 

That's freaking perfect, my friend! I absolutely love it, CreamSoda. That's perfect.

[Survival79]

2 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

Keep in mind, the equipment isn't the only thing being changed;

 

They have to wear white helmets on the road, right?

 

 

Seems to be another case of a team that got it mostly right the first time and has slowly chipped away at what was once a great set. The 1997-98/1998-99 set was probably peak Avalanche.

 

[NoE38_Concepts]

I personally think the Avs should change the black equipment and numbers to navy, they already use it for their alternate anyway. Something like this is the best I think they can look with the mountain striping pattern:

[CreamSoda]

53 minutes ago, Survival79 said:

 

They have to wear white helmets on the road, right?

 

 

 

 

 

That is what I am ASSUMING but I can't find any NHL rules that mandate a white helmet with the away uniform.  The AVS presser does state home and away will use blue pants, gloves and helmets.

[_RH_]

Is it just me or did the leaked pics of Mack's gloves and Rant's pants look like quite a bright blue?  Just lighting?

 

I hope they fix the top of the home socks, really don't think blue works adjacent to burgundy.

 

@NoE38_Concepts that's cool, maybe eliminating black and grey would be possible.  It definitely makes the blue trim stick out more.  Personally I would prefer a single blue to navy.

 

On the other hand, I remember trying to photoshop all the equipment from black to grey.  Maybe someone with skills can try that.

 

 

 

 

[M4One]

3 hours ago, Survival79 said:

 

They have to wear white helmets on the road, right?

 

I don't see why they wouldn't still wear white helmets on the road.

 

Anyone thinks this could be a one year thing to coincide with the Nordiques retro jersey?  

[Ridleylash]

15 minutes ago, M4One said:

Anyone thinks this could be a one year thing to coincide with the Nordiques retro jersey?  

Don't think so, the only blue on that is the outline of the logo. Makes more sense to go with their normal set.

[GriffinM6]

5 hours ago, Survival79 said:

 

They have to wear white helmets on the road, right?

 

 

 

Seeing these renderings side-by-side, I definitely think it looks way better on the home uniform. However, if they use the home socks on the road uniform, I think the color balance could be better. 

 

Would anyone be able to whip up a photoshop of this suggestion?

[habsfan1]

12 hours ago, spartacat_12 said:

I'd expect that they'll be changing the numbers on the away jersey to burgundy or blue to completely take black out of the equation.

 

If the call is being made by the same design people who think light blue shorts match well with a dark burgundy jersey, I expect the black numbers to remain, making the overall uniform look more terrible than ever. The concepts of new photoshopped pants for the Avs do not look good.

 

 

 

12 hours ago, spartacat_12 said:

The Blackhawks, Wild, Sens, Canucks, and Jets all have colours in their logos that aren't used anywhere on their uniforms, so it isn't unprecedented.

 

Yeah. I definitely don't expect the Blackhawks to use green and orange on their uniforms. Completely understandable. The Avs, though, it's a different situation with this specific color combo they had. Had they been using navy blue, they would totally use navy shorts, burgundy jerseys, problem solved. With their current colors, the design dept had to call au audible, so the pants don't look ugly.

[habsfan1]

I'm just taking a guess. But could it be that the Avs want blue pants because the reverse retros will use blue pants and they only want to use 1 pair for all jersey combos?

[tp49]

23 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

I do want to take a quick moment to defend the reluctance of some Isles fans to associate with Fishsticks, in the interest of fairness. A close friend who has been a lifelong Islanders fan relayed this to me, a couple years back.

 

While it's not the end-all-be-all of what's important in the sports world, Espn's 30 for 30 series has currently only done 3 episodes on hockey, of their just over 100. That small of a number aside, 2 of those cover Gretzky's trade from the Oilers to the Kings, and the Miracle on Ice. So far so good, right? You know what the other one was? An in-depth look at the Spano fiasco. That means that ESPN deemed it one of the top three most documentary-worthy stories in hockey's history. Heck, let's expand it to the shorts, too. We also get the rise and fall of John Wensink, who notoriously challenged the entire North Stars bench to a fight once only to take his own life shortly after his career ended, and Clint Malarchuk having his carotid slit, easily one of the scariest moments in sports. 

With that kind of focus on something your team has been the ongoing butt of, I am willing to take a step back from the jokes and show a little understanding to those in the fanbase who have a near PTSD response to Fishsticks.

I'll defend those fans all day.  Heck, I'm one of them.  You hit part of it with the Spano mess.  I've written extensively about it here over the years so I'll hit the lowlights, the dismantling of the '93 team and the sweep in the first round in '94 to the eventual cup champion (still makes me sick to say it) Rangers.  The Gorton's Fisherman comes in in '95 with bad ownership who's eager to sell and an equally bad GM.  Then we get Milbury and the fun that was having him run the ship.  We don't see the playoffs until the early 2000's and then it's a couple of first round exits.  It's a part of Islanders history many want to forget.

 

To make matters worse the crappy fisherman logo gave rise to the infamous "We Want Fishsticks" chant at Ranger games.  Bad enough when you're down but worse when your uniforms give your biggest rival more ammo.  The revolt against the fisherman by the fanbase was so great to the point that there were protests in the Coliseum parking lot (yes I was a vocal participant in them) that it forced ownership to introduce a third that substituted the classic logo for the fisherman.  That jersey became the primary the next season.

 

Now, I agree with those who say the Isles RR is boring.  It is.  Probably a cop out on their part.  If I had input as to what the RR would be it'd be orange with the Dynasty striping, classic logo, number font from the '93 team, and a retooled, more realistic looking lighthouse patch on both shoulders.  Isles fans also have PTSD because we'd been the doormat of the league and the butt of jokes for a long time.  We've just become respectable again and have no desire to have those aspects of our history thrown back in our faces.  Leave the Gorton's Fisherman to fan gear and history.