What if the Minnesota North Stars never left?

[StevenGrant94]

Back in 2012 I made a series of Quebec Nordiques concepts, a fictional timeline of what they might have looked like if they had never left. Since it's been ten years, I thought it would be a good time to add onto the timeline. We begin in 1995... 

 

Pre-Edge Era

 

1995-98

In 1995 the Nordiques completely redesigned their uniforms. The colours changed, and a wolf (or husky?) became the primary logo. These jerseys weren't well liked by most fans, and as a result they only lasted three years.

 

1998-2003

In the summer of 1998, the Nordiques announced that their unpopular "Wolf" jerseys were going away. Most fans were hoping for a return to the classic logo and jerseys. They did get the Igloo logo back, but the jerseys were new, with navy and silver added to the colour scheme. Many fans liked these jerseys, but some were disappointed that the classic jerseys weren't back.

 

2003-07

The Nordiques added a third jersey in 2003, which would last until the switch to Reebok Edge jerseys in 2007. The jersey was navy blue with lots of silver.

[StevenGrant94]

Reebok Edge Era

 

2007-08

Slight changes were made to the jerseys during the switch to the Reebok Edge cut. A phantom shoulder yoke was added, and the hem-stripes became smaller. These changes weren't well liked by fans, who still wanted to see a return to the classic set.

 

2008-10

When the third jersey program was re-introduced in 2008, the Nordiques finally listened to their fans by adding a throwback jersey based off of their classic blue jersey.

 

2010-12

The third jersey became the home jersey, and a matching away jersey was added. The previous home jersey stayed on as a third jersey.

 

2012-13

On June, 15th 2012, the Nordiques announced that they were scrapping their third jersey and would only have the two throwback jerseys for the next season.

 

2013-16

A black third jersey was added that didn't feature the Nordiques classic Igloo logo at all. The inside of the collar used a Quebec flag as a hanger effect, and the proportion of the stripes were also taken from the Quebec flag (3-2-3).

 

2016-17

The Nordiques faced off against the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 Heritage Classic, wearing a baby-blue jersey based off of their inaugural WHA look. The jersey would be worn several more times throughout the season, replacing the black third jersey which had been retired after three seasons.

[StevenGrant94]

Adidas Adizero Era

 

2017-19

Only minor changes were made to the Nordiques jerseys during the league-wide switch to Adidas, including ditching the outlines on the numbers, and using a different sock stripe. Also three fleur-de-lis were added to the inside of the collar as a hanger effect.

 

2019-22

A "stealth" third jersey, with no white at all, was added to the rotation. The third shade of blue (baby-blue) comes from their 2016 Heritage Classic jersey.

 

2019-20 Throwback

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the lone NHL season of the Quebec Athletics (aka the Bulldogs), the Nordiques wore throwbacks of their jerseys for a handful of games throughout the season.

 

2021 Reverse Retro

For the NHL's Reverse Retro program, the Nordiques brought back their "Wolf" design from the 90's, this time with teal as the base colour. In stark contrast to 25 years prior, fans welcomed these jerseys back with open arms. Also this season, Videotron became the team's helmet sponsor.

 

2022-Future

Due to declining jersey sales, the Nordiques decide to ditch their classic set. The "stealth" jersey becomes the new home jersey, and a matching white jersey is added which features ghosted fleur-de-lis (white on a white background). Also, the Nordiques announce Desjardins Group as their official jersey sponsor (Videotron remains the team's helmet sponsor).

 

Thanks for checking this out, it was a lot of fun making these concepts!

[Blindsay]

Now this is spectacular. I can’t wait to see all the other possible what ifs 

[rorinator]

Every set was a really believeable and thoughtful 'what if?' that matched each era perfectly! These jerseys ads will be brutal though... hurts to see even on a concept.

[vtgco]

That BFBS jersey is probably my favorite one here! It's more realistic how you have it, but I'd love it more with a higher hem stripe to fit a royal color block underneath.

 

Bummer to imagine that "stealth" jersey being adopted as a full-time set in 2022... Not really feeling the color balancing on that set; that powder blue and ghosted fleurs feel out of place. Say what you will about the Oilers' navy jerseys, but they at least have a clear color hierarchy.

 

I think the royal & navy set of '98 looks really nice, and you do a good job showing it decaying (for a lack of a better word) through the Edge changes. I wonder if this would lead the Jets to adopt a different logo and color scheme?

 

Anyways, fun idea; thanks for sharing!

[Bomba Tomba]

OP are you the one who did all those uniform evolution concepts years back? I loved those, glad to see them back and hope for more!

[B-mer]

This is awesome. The black alternate is really nice, but honestly my favorite are the edge unis. Your evolution makes perfect sense though for each era, although I wonder if a total rebrand would have come instead of going stealth. 

[Vgkenjoyer]

This is great!  Feels exactly like how the brand would have evolved. 

[StevenGrant94]

Thank you all for the comments! I'm working on a Jets version, and I also have some ideas for the Thrashers.

 

2 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

OP are you the one who did all those uniform evolution concepts years back? I loved those, glad to see them back and hope for more!

I think you're thinking of someone else, I haven't posted one of these concept evolutions here before (I'm trying to remember who it was though, because those concepts were great).

[VampyrRabbit]

This is a nice journey down what could have been memory lane, and very convincing.

 

Two things that come to mind, and both related to the city flag. I wonder if crenelation patterns would have appeared (I can see them as the hangar effect), and would gold have found its way into the palette over time?

1 hour ago, StevenGrant94 said:

Thank you all for the comments! I'm working on a Jets version, and I also have some ideas for the Thrashers.

Do you have any ideas for the Whalers?

[JerseyJimmy]

this all feels like a very similar arc to the Islanders' uniform history, though that might just be because I'm an Isles fan. still, these all look great! the '13-'16 black alt is a sleeper pick for my favorite of the bunch.

[FCMacbeth]

2 hours ago, JerseyJimmy said:

this all feels like a very similar arc to the Islanders' uniform history, though that might just be because I'm an Isles fan. still, these all look great! the '13-'16 black alt is a sleeper pick for my favorite of the bunch.

Also the one to hate as well for obvious reasons.

[jbird669]

Absolute fire!

[The Gambler]

Nice Work!

[StevenGrant94]

Once again, thanks for all the comments!

 

On 6/15/2022 at 7:33 PM, StevenGrant94 said:

I think you're thinking of someone else, I haven't posted one of these concept evolutions here before (I'm trying to remember who it was though, because those concepts were great).

Finally remembered, it was hockey week. Here's his series What if the NHL absorbed 8 teams from the WHA?

 

23 hours ago, VampyrRabbitDesign said:

Two things that come to mind, and both related to the city flag. I wonder if crenelation patterns would have appeared (I can see them as the hangar effect), and would gold have found its way into the palette over time?

Do you have any ideas for the Whalers?

I hadn't even thought about the city flag but I should have, those are both good ideas! I don't have any ideas for the Whalers yet, but I'll keep thinking.

 

23 hours ago, JerseyJimmy said:

this all feels like a very similar arc to the Islanders' uniform history, though that might just be because I'm an Isles fan. still, these all look great! the '13-'16 black alt is a sleeper pick for my favorite of the bunch.

The Islanders were one of the main teams I referenced when making this, especially for the wolf jerseys (Islanders fisherman jerseys) and the 13-16 black alt (Islanders 11-14 black alt).

 

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I dig it

[CRDesigns]

Absolutely love this!!

[ClevelandBaronsNHLfan]

Can you do a what if for the Cleveland Barons? You can do a version where the ahl team successfully joined the nhl in the 1950s or a version where they never merged with the north stars in 1978.

[ManillaToad]

Really well done