2022-2023 NHL Jersey Changes

[Kevin W.]

13 hours ago, AFirestormToPurify said:

The Wild should still be wearing their OG jerseys with the jagged numbers

No. Minnesota has a rich hockey history - probably more than any other state in the country with the exception of Stanley Cup wins. A team in Minnesota can be traditional if they like. Those jerseys were a bad product of the late 90s/early 2000s and not something that should be brought back.

[Nordiks_19]

Not really a 2022-2023 season news, but it's still worth mentionning

 

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/report-adidas-will-not-return-as-nhl-jersey-manufacturer-after-2023-24/

 

Adidas won't renew their contract with the NHL after the 2023-2024 season.

[AFirestormToPurify]

On 7/29/2022 at 2:39 AM, Kevin W. said:

No. Minnesota has a rich hockey history - probably more than any other state in the country with the exception of Stanley Cup wins

0 Cups and established in 2000 lol. Try again

On 7/29/2022 at 2:39 AM, Kevin W. said:

Those jerseys were a bad product of the late 90s/early 2000s and not something that should be brought back.

Yeah unlike their name, you mean? Come on

The OG uniforms were great. And the thinner sleeve piping when they switched over to Reebok made them even better. It's a shame we never got to see the green version and got the phantom yoke and waist-stripe-free boring "olde tyme hockey" third Edgified and then promoted to full time home jersey instead. The numbers were the only wacky thing about them, and even then, it wasn't that bad, it's not like they were impossible to read or anything. Much more fun and fitting than just going with a custom block font used by every other team

They got it right the first time and they will never be the North Stars

[AFirestormToPurify]

@Jamesizzo

You alright bud?

You know instead of disliking every single one of my posts and often making sure you dislike posts that are several months old just to drive the point home, you could just block me

I know I often have unpopular opinions but you're being weird lol

[ebod39]

43 minutes ago, AFirestormToPurify said:

0 Cups and established in 2000 lol. Try again

 

 

He meant the state itself, The State of Hockey,  which has produced more NHL players than any other.

Hockey is religion in MN. 

[AFirestormToPurify]

Just now, ebod39 said:

 

He meant the state itself, The State of Hockey,  which has produced more NHL players than any other.

Hockey is religion in MN. 

I know. I'm fully aware of that. But it doesn't change the fact that the Wild is not and will never be an old team. It's not even like they're the same franchise as the North Stars. I think it's a stretch to say that because the state of Minnesota has a rich hockey history, the Wild should be wearing jerseys that make them look like a team that was established a hundred years ago or that their jerseys should have a retro look. It's a team established in 2000 called the WILD, the buzzsaw/fuzzy numbers were perfectly acceptable and on brand. The rest of the uniform was still tasteful and simple enough that it wouldn't look dated today, unlike say, the original Predators jerseys that screamed "late 90s x-TrEmE"

[Ridleylash]

1 hour ago, AFirestormToPurify said:

I know. I'm fully aware of that. But it doesn't change the fact that the Wild is not and will never be an old team.

The franchise is nearly 25 years old, my dude. I dunno about you, but any team over 20 years old seems like an old team to me.

 

Besides, it seems incredibly closed-minded to say that only teams from a specific time period can look a certain way. That's kinda taking away the fun of sports branding, isn't it?

[AFirestormToPurify]

5 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

The franchise is nearly 25 years old, my dude. I dunno about you, but any team over 20 years old seems like an old team to me.

 

Besides, it seems incredibly closed-minded to say that only teams from a specific time period can look a certain way. That's kinda taking away the fun of sports branding, isn't it?

What I'm saying is, teams from the 60s look like teams from the 60s. So do 70s teams. And 80s teams. And a lot of 90s teams. And so on

Except the Wild. The Wild can't look like a Y2K team for some reason, they had to do the faux-retro thing out of nowhere when their original uniforms were perfectly fine

 

20 years old is not that old (25 lol), up until Vegas, they were the most recent expansion team

[Jer15]

The team is from the 2000s. 

They're also from a state that has a rich hockey history. It's OK they try looks inspired by either era. Frankly I think their original jerseys were their best but I don't think they NEED to wear something that screams 2000. 

 

This is like saying the Thrashers couldn't adopt the name Jets when they move to Winnipeg. 

Or like the Sounders, Timbers and, Whitecaps in MLS couldn't use those names because they aren't the same franchise as the previous incarnations.

 

Teams in sports frequently use the history of the sport in their area for names, logos, colours and, uniform inspiration. 

[monkeypower]

2 hours ago, AFirestormToPurify said:

What I'm saying is, teams from the 60s look like teams from the 60s. So do 70s teams. And 80s teams. And a lot of 90s teams. And so on

Except the Wild. The Wild can't look like a Y2K team for some reason, they had to do the faux-retro thing out of nowhere when their original uniforms were perfectly fine

 

Except the Ducks and the Blue Jackets and the Kings and the Panthers (open that can of worms right back up) and the Predators and the Senators (kind of, it's what they wore in the 90s but it's not really a 90s jersey, but I guess it is by definition since they wore it in the 90s) and the Sharks and the Lightning and the Capitals by my count.

[Ridleylash]

23 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

 

Except the Ducks and the Blue Jackets and the Kings and the Panthers (open that can of worms right back up) and the Predators and the Senators (kind of, it's what they wore in the 90s but it's not really a 90s jersey, but I guess it is by definition since they wore it in the 90s) and the Sharks and the Lightning and the Capitals by my count.

Carolina, too, also doesn't really look like a 90's team.

[chcarlson23]

3 hours ago, AFirestormToPurify said:

What I'm saying is, teams from the 60s look like teams from the 60s. So do 70s teams. And 80s teams. And a lot of 90s teams. And so on

Except the Wild. The Wild can't look like a Y2K team for some reason, they had to do the faux-retro thing out of nowhere when their original uniforms were perfectly fine

 

20 years old is not that old (25 lol), up until Vegas, they were the most recent expansion team

Well the faux-retro isn’t out of nowhere… Minnesota has hockey history that predates the NHL. The first hockey tournament held at the St. Paul Winter Carnival was held in 1896. Even before the NHA. 
 

The original look for the Wild was great, but the fauxback look works well too. Minnesota is a historic hockey hotbed, so why shouldn’t their top team look the part too? 

[PlayGloria]

Is the Wild's current set even a faux back look? They might not be 2000s WILD but I also don't find them to be retro or faux back whatsoever. 

I said this earlier and I'll say it again, i think its the wheat/off-white color, not the design, that might give people that impression.

 

Honestly, I have never dug the name "Wild" but the less they feed into the 2000s vibe, the more I view it as "wilderness" vs tacky. Taming the other elements of the uniform has let the logo shine a bit more. IDK, their branding has grown on me since losing the 00s vibe. 

 

 

[gosioux76]

12 hours ago, AFirestormToPurify said:

What I'm saying is, teams from the 60s look like teams from the 60s. So do 70s teams. And 80s teams. And a lot of 90s teams. And so on

Except the Wild. The Wild can't look like a Y2K team for some reason, they had to do the faux-retro thing out of nowhere when their original uniforms were perfectly fine

 

20 years old is not that old (25 lol), up until Vegas, they were the most recent expansion team

 

Here's my question: Why would you want them to look like a team from 2000? In fact, why should any team be held to some period-driven visual standard tied to their origin? Their name might be of a certain vintage, but the Wild would be getting skewered on this board if they skated out on the ice in 2003 vintage chic hockey couture, and for good reason. 

 

Teams build their brand around the aesthetic they want now. The Wild want to resemble the "old time hockey" brand they've attempted to build and befits the culture of the sport in their state. Good for them. There's logic to it, despite the relative youth of the franchise. 

[HopewellJones]

5 hours ago, PlayGloria said:

Is the Wild's current set even a faux back look? They might not be 2000s WILD but I also don't find them to be retro or faux back whatsoever. 

I said this earlier and I'll say it again, i think its the wheat/off-white color, not the design, that might give people that impression.

 

Honestly, I have never dug the name "Wild" but the less they feed into the 2000s vibe, the more I view it as "wilderness" vs tacky. Taming the other elements of the uniform has let the logo shine a bit more. IDK, their branding has grown on me since losing the 00s vibe. 

 

 

Agreed on the Wild name. I've always liked it.

 

Would be way different if they were the Minneapolis Wild, in which case I'd look at it like the 90s xTrEmE vibe. But the state moniker along with their  whole identity gives me more of a "Minnesota Wildlife/Wilderness" vibe that really works for me. 

[Sport]

I'm no defender of the Wild's uniform choices, but establishing in 2000 shouldn't mean they're forever cursed to dressing like it's the year 2000, even with the aggressively 2000 nickname they chose. MINNESOTA, of all places, should get some leeway in that regard. 

 

The only team I can really point to and say "knock it off with the Original 6 dress-up" is the Lightning and that's because they deliberately chose and continue to choose to dress within the boundaries of confusability as the Maple Leafs. It's like if the Tampa Bay Rays wore navy blue pinstripes and hats with an interlocking TB logo on the chest and hat.

 

 

 

 

[chcarlson23]

50 minutes ago, HopewellJones said:

Agreed on the Wild name. I've always liked it.

 

Would be way different if they were the Minneapolis Wild, in which case I'd look at it like the 90s xTrEmE vibe. But the state moniker along with their  whole identity gives me more of a "Minnesota Wildlife/Wilderness" vibe that really works for me. 

Well it would be the St. Paul Wild, because the Xcel Energy Center is in St. Paul 

 

6 hours ago, PlayGloria said:

Is the Wild's current set even a faux back look? They might not be 2000s WILD but I also don't find them to be retro or faux back whatsoever. 

I said this earlier and I'll say it again, i think its the wheat/off-white color, not the design, that might give people that impression.

 

Honestly, I have never dug the name "Wild" but the less they feed into the 2000s vibe, the more I view it as "wilderness" vs tacky. Taming the other elements of the uniform has let the logo shine a bit more. IDK, their branding has grown on me since losing the 00s vibe. 

And the Wild had their winter classic which really pushed the 20’s Old Time hockey vibe, but their current branding is definitely more 60’s-80’s style, which is really just the epitome of hockey design. 
As someone who appreciates the long history of the game, and is from Minnesota, I’m so happy that this is the direction of the branding they’re going with. The Gaborik-era jerseys were cool, and the numbers were a lot of fun, but the direction they’ve taken over the last couple of years is perfect. They are a blend of modern as well as retro, and it really fits the identity of the team and the state’s hockey culture as a whole. It’s not dumb O6 dress up, it really does fit the market. 
 

Some teams should have a more modern brand, and one that reflects the age of the team, but honestly as long as the sweaters look good, faux-retro is the way to go. 

[WSU151]

A change the Wild could benefit from would be to lose the Machine font numbers and go with the number font used for the WC jerseys (which seem a bit more old-school and fit better with the older look). 

[spartacat_12]

It also helps that Minnesota essentially invented what we think of as a "fauxback" uniform. When they unveiled their original red alternate, stuff like cream/vintage white coloured numbers and a felt roundel logo were unique & original. They even extended this branding to the All Star Game uniforms they hosted.

 

Now that every Winter Classic involves some sort of cream fauxback look it feels a little overdone, but it does make sense for Minnesota, regardless of when they were formed.

[DTConcepts]

Can’t wait until we coin the term “Y2K Dress-up” in 10 years if/when the Wild decide to return to their original jerseys.

 

 

Even though “O6 dress-up” is a dumb concept on the whole, the Wild are by definition not an O6-looking team. Last I checked, none of the Original 6 have green prominently in their identity.