2020-2021 NHL Changes

[The_Admiral]

14 hours ago, Kevin W. said:

I can't think of any possible reason for the Ducks not to bring back the Mighty Ducks jerseys.

 

1) They won the Stanley Cup with an all-time great team in black, beige, and orange

2) They no longer wish to be associated with a children's movie

 

You may not like the reasons, but they are, in fact, reasons

[SFGiants58]

7 minutes ago, the admiral said:

 

1) They won the Stanley Cup with an all-time great team in black, beige, and orange

2) They no longer wish to be associated with a children's movie

 

You may not like the reasons, but they are, in fact, reasons

 

Then came a wave of nostalgia, the Kings dropping purple, the fact that the Cup-winning uniforms looked awful, and the growing popularity of that orange alternate. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually comes back, when 2007 becomes an even more distant memory. 

 

Granted, this argument can be used against the Bucs' new design. But still, '90s nostalgia has power here, power that the team should not resist to go with an ultimately superior design.

[mattr1198]

1 minute ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Then came a wave of nostalgia, the Kings dropping purple, the fact that the Cup-winning uniforms looked awful, and the growing popularity of that orange alternate. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually comes back, when 2007 becomes an even more distant memory. 

 

Granted, this argument can be used against the Bucs' new design. But still, '90s nostalgia has power here, power that the team should not resist to go with an ultimately superior design.

90s nostalgia does have power, but then again 90s nostalgia will eventually waver once the 2020s are done, just like how 80s nostalgia is fading now that the 2010s are done. If you can't tell there's a cycle of nostalgia every 10 years.

 

The Bucs returned to their classic uniforms from the 90s-early 2010s because of the fact their prior set was hideous/outdated and their set after the classic one was also horrid. Their jersey also manages to hold up shockingly well and doesn't look dated like many 90s looks. 

[The_Admiral]

Sure, it's possible. I don't really care either way what the Ducks do (though I was quite taken by that balloon arch with jade, eggplant, orange, and black all combined). But one can't argue that there is no reason to go back to looking like the perennially underachieving Disney movie team. 

[Ridleylash]

24 minutes ago, the admiral said:

1) They won the Stanley Cup in black, beige, and orange

I mean, that was well over a decade ago at this point, and the team's only made it to the Conference Finals twice since then, amid a slew of first and second round L's and outright playoff misses. The legacy of the current look isn't that much better than that of the Mighty Ducks look.

 

And they're putting a hell of a lot more emphasis on orange when it comes to marketing then black and beige ("Paint it Orange", the popular orange third, etc.); so all you really need to do is take the Mighty Ducks jersey and slot in orange to replace a color (say the silver) and it'd be good. Jade/eggplant/orange is also an incredibly unique color scheme in the NHL, and I would not undersell the value of having a color scheme all to yourself when it comes to branding.

 

They currently share 3/4 colors with Philadelphia. Only one of those non-white colors (orange) is really necessary, as it ties into the fact they are the Orange County team.

 

Quote

2) They no longer wish to be associated with a children's movie

Why would they use the logo on their thirds if they didn't want to be associated with their past at all? Why would they throw back to those jerseys whenever an anniversary comes along if they don't want any association with their past? I don't think they're all that worried about "being associated with a children's movie", especially since the last Mighty Ducks movie came out over two decades ago and they've shown zero hesitation to acknowledge the Mighty Ducks era whenever an anniversary comes around.

 

9 minutes ago, the admiral said:

But one can't argue that there is no reason to go back to looking like the perennially underachieving Disney movie team. 

There's the fact that it's become one of the most iconic and beloved designs in all of the NHL to consider. Going to what your audience wants is always a smart move. See: the Kachina Coyotes.

[SFGiants58]

10 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Sure, it's possible. I don't really care either way what the Ducks do (though I was quite taken by that balloon arch with jade, eggplant, orange, and black all combined). But one can't argue that there is no reason to go back to looking like the perennially underachieving Disney movie team. 

 

It's all fun and games until hockey week makes fun of a man who has a severe concussion and can't remember anything about it.

 

Seriously, this is one of the worst takes ever posted on CCSLC (bold points are mine):

 

Quote

I disagree. I think the whole franchise history needs to go. I grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb at a time when the Penguins were awful, I was one of maybe four hockey fans in my entire school, and that included the teachers. I got mocked mercilessly for liking "that Canadian sport nobody watches", and I'll never forget when a kid asked me if my Penguins jersey was the new Winnipeg jersey. They were all ready to see the team move, because then maybe we'd get a basketball team.

 

But they knew the Mighty Ducks. 

They'd shout knuckle puck for no reason, and when we played in gym class, they'd shout it before they slapped the whiffle ball we were using...even though that made no sense.

They'd ask why the Penguins couldn't just do the flying V to win games.

and when making small talk with parents, they'd mention their nephew is playing for the Junior Penguins, so he's on his way to the NHL (the jr. pens are Junior B, and low level at that, especially back then). 

 

I HATE the Mighty Ducks. 

 

 

and you notice, they didn't do anything good as the Mighty Ducks. They went to the Cup final in '03 and lost to New Jersey. It's that and Paul Kariya's tears. Mention Guy Hebert and you have the entire Mighty Ducks history. As soon as they drop the Mighty, BAM they win the Cup. Nobody seems to care about that. Everyone just has a raging hard-on for nostalgia because we somehow feel that our childhoods were perfect and we have to replicate them in every way like some perverse time capsule. X-files and Full House are on tv, Ninja Turtles were in theaters, Surge can be gotten and Hi-C Ecto Cooler might be coming back, AND you can watch that Mighty Ducks logo on the ice again! Bust out your AOL CDs and hop on AIM, Woo! 90s! Now if only they'd bring back the eggplant and jade and make it for realz. Eggplant and Jade, because we're too rad to say purple and green. Nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia! No moving forward, no hope for the future, we're going to sit huddled in the past. It's not like it's the Original Six we're talking about, it wasn't some super-classic design...the duck mask wouldn't even fit a duck. No duck looks like that. It's clearly based on Donald Duck, which makes it so much more cartoony than it needs to be. It's out beyond the Penguins' cartoonishness, because it's totally referencing Disney, and it's obvious. Something more natural, less Donald, and you might have something. It'd still be whimsical and cartoony because, well, ducks wouldn't wear goalie masks...they're ducks, but it'd be somewhat better, because the Disney connection is broken. But again, nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia.

 

/rant.

 

I know I defended another hockey week post earlier this week, but man, posts like the one above remind me how whiny he could be. "I hate the Mighty Ducks because my bullies liked the movies more than real hockey! Waahh!"

 

[The_Admiral]

I'm unclear as to the timeline here. Penguins-to-Winnipeg was a rumor around 2006, but D2 came out in 1993. People who were kids 15ish years ago watched D2?

 

  

30 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

There's the fact that it's become one of the most iconic and beloved designs in all of the NHL to consider. Going to what your audience wants is always a smart move. See: the Kachina Coyotes.

 

Yeah, there are good reasons to go back to it. There are not-so-good reasons not to. It's not cut and dried, is all I'm trying to say here.

[SFGiants58]

Just now, the admiral said:

I'm unclear as to the timeline here. Penguins-to-Winnipeg was a rumor around 2007, but D2 came out in 1993. 

 

Perhaps talking about when the Jets moved and the kids not knowing the Penguins' jerseys? IDK. I'm kind of glad hockey week and The Great Pacific Octopus decided to quit spewing anti-Eggplant/Jade rants. The Duckjacks were rarely enjoyable, mostly just hockey week screaming "NoStALgiA iS All yOu LiKe!!!" to people who liked the old Ducks identity, both guys ignoring nuanced discussions of the designs (e.g., the Panthers and Stars' redesigns) to criticize the MUH NINDIES posters, and doing the whole "cartoon logo" rant thing. Granted, I've done the "ignoring nuance" bit before, so who am I to talk?

 

But with hockey week, you got a sense that the Mighty Ducks had personally wronged him. 

[monkeypower]

If anything, the Disney connection has started to come back over the last couple seasons, especially with the Ducks Days at California Adventure the past two years. That balloon structure @the admiral referenced was from the first Ducks Day.

 

Also, the Mighty Ducks logo has been officially back for about a decade now ever since the unveiling of the then alternate/now home jersey back in 2010. It was only really out of use from 06-07 to 09-10, so only four out of the Ducks 26 seasons didn’t have the Mighty Ducks logo being used in some form.

 

Like I said on the page prior to this one, there are rumors that the players don’t prefer the orange jerseys, I think more because of the orange and not because of the logo.

[The_Admiral]

I will say that the current Ducks sweaters are all very very bad and should be replaced by anything in either color scheme.

[Krudler]

This thread has me wanting to mess around with Ducks unis in the NHL 20 creation suite.

[IceCap]

15 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

Then came a wave of nostalgia

 

15 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

There's the fact that it's become one of the most iconic and beloved designs in all of the NHL to consider. Going to what your audience wants is always a smart move. See: the Kachina Coyotes.

90s nostalgia is in across the board, and it won't always be in. The cycle always runs its course, and eventually 90s nostalgia will be a thing of the past.

 

15 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

I mean, that was well over a decade ago at this point

Sure, the Ducks' Cup win was over a decade ago. It's been longer since the team accomplished anything of note in eggplant and jade. Just saying.

 

Winning the Stanley Cup is hard. The Ducks know this more than most. They won it once and have flamed out in heartbreaking fashion with truly talented teams since. The idea that the team's lone Stanley Cup win- and the identity they won it in- can be written off as a mere footnote seems misguided.

 

Sadly? The Ducks have NEVER had a good look as far as I'm concerned. The Cup winning uniform was kind of dull. The eggplant and jade was peak 90s design that hasn't aged particularly well. Their recent primary look has been a mess of panels and piping.

I'm not sure what the "ideal" Ducks uniform is, but the ideas that someone who dislikes the jade and eggplant only does so because they're bitter whiners or that the Cup uniforms shouldn't "count" because it was a while ago or whatever don't strike me as particularly convincing. 

 

You can like the Mighty Ducks' eggplant and jade all you like and still admit that it's peak 90s design that won't sit well with everyone (there were plenty of people who disliked it in the 90s) and it's possible to concede that maybe the look associated with the team's only title maybe shouldn't be written off entirely.

[JayMac]

I can honestly say that I have never really liked any (Mighty) Ducks uniforms. One of my brothers had to have Mighty Ducks everything when we were younger and the look never really grew on me. I like the colors but that was it. With that being said, anything they have come out with since has been a downgrade. The gold does not work with black and orange at all and it is so dull.

[O.C.D]

As a Mighty Ducks fan I really wanted them to make a primarily jade jersey using the same template as the home and away jersey. When the NHL switched to color at home I was REALLY hoping they'd change from eggplant to jade but they didn't

[Krudler]

I miss white at home.

[The_Admiral]

3 hours ago, IceCap said:

eventually 90s nostalgia will be a thing of the past.

 

Not if I have anything to say about it. In fact, I'm not even sure '90s nostalgia is nostalgia. I could argue that we live in a permanent '90s.

[SFGiants58]

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

Sure, the Ducks' Cup win was over a decade ago. It's been longer since the team accomplished anything of note in eggplant and jade. Just saying.

 

When the Stars brought back light green, it had been over a decade since they'd won a Cup and even longer since the days of light green.

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

Winning the Stanley Cup is hard. The Ducks know this more than most. They won it once and have flamed out in heartbreaking fashion with truly talented teams since. The idea that the team's lone Stanley Cup win- and the identity they won it in- can be written off as a mere footnote seems misguided.

 

True, but let's also remember that the Stars won a Cup in a uniform set they've largely rejected since:

 

 

The same logic can apply to the Ducks.

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

Sadly? The Ducks have NEVER had a good look as far as I'm concerned. The Cup winning uniform was kind of dull.

 

Dull? It was dark, dingy, and really messy.

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

The eggplant and jade was peak 90s design that hasn't aged particularly well.

 

The uniforms, maybe. But those colors? I don't know, I think the Hornets have demonstrated that those colors can thrive outside of the '90s nostalgia context.

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

Their recent primary look has been a mess of panels and piping.

 

No argument from me, especially since more orange leads to the "pumpkin guts" look.

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

I'm not sure what the "ideal" Ducks uniform is,

 

I know. Dark green and orange, perhaps with black and yellow-gold as trim colors. Use an ornithologically-correct duck logo, with the "D" as the shoulder patches. Have the '90s Eggplant sweater as an alternate. It's distinctive, doesn't come off as goofy, and keeps the '90s look around in some capacity.

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

but the ideas that someone who dislikes the jade and eggplant only does so because they're bitter whiners or that the Cup uniforms shouldn't "count" because it was a while ago or whatever don't strike me as particularly convincing. 

 

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that it was one case, while also trying to explain why the Jade/Eggplant set isn't as rejected as some '90s designs. 

 

5 hours ago, IceCap said:

You can like the Mighty Ducks' eggplant and jade all you like and still admit that it's peak 90s design that won't sit well with everyone (there were plenty of people who disliked it in the 90s) and it's possible to concede that maybe the look associated with the team's only title maybe shouldn't be written off entirely.

 

True, but as I mentioned with the Stars example, nobody really seems to have a problem with the Stars' "star template" design being written-off. Why should it be any different for the uglier Ducks design?

[The_Admiral]

 

Sweaters with curvy, "swooping" stripes always look better on 2-D templates than they do on actual people. They just turn into chevrons, basically. Not very swoopy at all. And that full-name crest, ugh, awful.

[monkeypower]

I'd almost argue the EDGE versions were worse because they shrunk the logo and the stripes stopped under the arm. I would also argue that is is still fairly swoopy, as in it's not on a entirely straight diagonal and it's a bit of throughline from the Mighty Ducks to the Ducks.

 

 

7 hours ago, IceCap said:

The eggplant and jade was peak 90s design that hasn't aged particularly well.

 

I've said before, I don't think the Mighty Ducks jerseys were all that 90s (though I would say you could successfully argue the colours, but the Hornets have gone back to similar colours and I think those work, and the logo). The template is a fairly traditional striping design, just at an angle that them more unique. I also wouldn't say they aged all that poorly because of those same reasons.

 

Like this, this is a good uniform.

 

 

The NHL on NBC twitter account put out a graphic a couple days ago showing the Ducks logo evolution asking people what their favourite is and the Ducks quote tweeted it. All the responses to both tweets are people saying the Mighty Ducks logo.

[The_Admiral]

12 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

I'd almost argue the EDGE versions were worse because they shrunk the logo and the stripes stopped under the arm.

 

Oh, they're much worse. The Ducks made the mistake of designing for the old CCM cut one year before it would be retired.

 

I don't mind the jade and eggplant color scheme, but that logo with the poorly drawn hockey sticks and the duck mask would have to go. Unfortunately, I can't imagine the colors without the logo (we see the logo without the colors, and it's even worse).