NHL Uniform Concepts - FINAL WORDS

[edjb93]

Hi, I'm back with posting concepts! This time, I'm going to tackle ice hockey—NHL, to be exact.

 

First of all, I would like to thank @StevenGrant94 for allowing me to use his awesome hockey uniform templates. If you would like to use them, here is the link to his templates: Steven Grant Design: Templates

 

As for the colors, I would like to thank @TruColor for being THE reliable source for sports team colors.

 

Anyhoo, I have provided links to the teams for easier access. Each team will have 4 uniforms: home, road, alternate, and the much-anticipated Reverse Retro.

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic: Boston | Buffalo | Detroit | Florida | MTL Canadiens | Ottawa | Tampa Bay | Toronto (v.2)

Metropolitan: Carolina (v.2) | Columbus (v.2) | New Jersey | NY Islanders | NY Rangers | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Washington (v.2)

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central: Arizona (v.2) | Chicago (v.2) | COL Avalanche | Dallas (v.2) | MIN Wild | Nashville | St. Louis | Winnipeg

Pacific: Anaheim (v.2) | Calgary (v.2) | Edmonton | Los Angeles | San Jose | Seattle | Vancouver | Vegas

 

DEFUNCT TEAMS

Wales: Atlanta | Cleveland (v.2) | Hampton Roads (v.2) | Hamilton | Hartford (v.2) | MTL Maroons | Quebec

Campbell: California | COL Rockies (v.2) (v.3) | Kansas City | MIN North Stars | Rocky Mountain

 

ALL-STAR GAME

East vs. West | West vs. East

[edjb93]

CAROLINA HURRICANES

 

For most of its history since moving to Raleigh, the Canes have donned one of the most unique uniform designs in the NHL. Recently, however, their uniforms have gone to an identity crisis by going simple, then coming back somehow to their roots, then wanting to look like the New York Rangers.

 

In my case, I picked the team's first Adidas Adizero home uniform design as the basis and made a white version of it. The font choice is straightforward, essentially bringing back the originals. As for the alternate, I decided to mix their first black uniform with the sleeve ends from Hartford Whalers uniforms.

 

The biggest change with the whole set is the black pants, since the team has worn red pants throughout their stay in NC State's home turf.

 

Since the team has fully embraced its past recently, it's just natural that I went with a Whalers uniform as my Reverse Retro for the Canes. The 1985-89/1990-91 dark uniform is the base design, but the blue and green parts have gone to a switcheroo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[johne9109]

Home, away, and alternates are all great. I agree they really have an identity crisis right now and this fixes that. The throwback is a miss for me though. Not because it's Whalers however. i love the Whalers and I love that they wear it once or twice a year. The main dark blue uniform is what doesn't work for me. If you wanna go this route try the lighter blue and green that the Whalers mainly wore. Nice attempt at something different though

[edjb93]

5 hours ago, johne9109 said:

If you wanna go this route try the lighter blue and green that the Whalers mainly wore.

 

The reason I went with the recent Whalers colors is that they're much bolder and somehow intimidating than the lighter colors. However, I do understand the nostalgia of using the original color palette of the Whalers, so here we go:

 

 

[edjb93]

LOS ANGELES KINGS

 

Ever since going back to the Gretzky colors (silver and black), the Kings have looked more menacing than ever, winning 2 Stanley Cups. But I do have a bit of a problem with their uniforms, namely, the piping and the mismatched striping on the black and the white.

 

While this solution of mine is a bit of a copycat of the Gretzky-era uniforms, the home and road uniform concepts here have some differences, most notably the sleeve number placement. The striping on the pants also gains an update to follow the overall theme of the jerseys.

 

The silver alternate uniform is inspired by the team's look of the 2000's, minus the modern purple and the city name near the hem. And to separate it from the Reverse Retro uniform, I went with a vintage font for the NOB and the numbers.

 

Finally, we have the Reverse Retro. And before saying that it's essentially a forum blue and yellow version of the alternate uniform concept, it has some differences, most notably the city name near the hem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[johne9109]

Those shades seem too light. try 107b31 for the green and 002776 for the blue. I think you're on to something it's just not there yet. Also maybe try swapping the green and white for the striping? Leave the logo and letters as is though. 

[johne9109]

1 minute ago, edjb93 said:

LOS ANGELES KINGS

 

Ever since going back to the Gretzky colors (silver and black), the Kings have looked more menacing than ever, winning 2 Stanley Cups. But I do have a bit of a problem with their uniforms, namely, the piping and the mismatched striping on the black and the white.

 

While this solution of mine is a bit of a copycat of the Gretzky-era uniforms, the home and road uniform concepts here have some differences, most notably the sleeve number placement. The striping on the pants also gains an update to follow the overall theme of the jerseys.

 

The silver alternate uniform is inspired by the team's look of the 2000's, minus the modern purple and the city name near the hem. And to separate it from the Reverse Retro uniform, I went with a vintage font for the NOB and the numbers.

 

Finally, we have the Reverse Retro. And before saying that it's essentially a forum blue and yellow version of the alternate uniform concept, it has some differences, most notably the city name near the hem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a solid LA set that keeps the current identity. Fixing the Striping is a great improvement and that reverse retro is sweet

[edjb93]

25 minutes ago, johne9109 said:

Those shades seem too light. try 107b31 for the green and 002776 for the blue. I think you're on to something it's just not there yet. Also maybe try swapping the green and white for the striping? Leave the logo and letters as is though. 

 

50 minutes ago, edjb93 said:

 

I wanted it to avoid looking like the Canucks as much as possible, so I retained the predominantly white striping.

[johne9109]

8 hours ago, edjb93 said:

 

 

I wanted it to avoid looking like the Canucks as much as possible, so I retained the predominantly white striping.

Thats true. It would end up looking a lot like the Canucks. I would say keep it as is then. It's still a great uniform and I would definitely buy it if it were a real thing (maybe this years RR?)

[edjb93]

NEW YORK RANGERS

 

For the first Original Six team in this series, I retained what the Rangers have worn for the longest time, just the way it should be. I only made minimal changes, them being the straightened NOB and the tweaked shoulder yoke design on the white jersey.

 

The Heritage Jersey returns as the alternate, but not without a major correction from the actual one, that being in the form of new red pants which is essentially a recolored version of the team's normal red pants.

 

Though the Rangers have stuck with virtually the same design since the beginning, save for the John Ferguson era, the uniforms had multiple renditions. With that, my Reverse Retro takes us way, way back to 1926. This is basically a white version of the team's blue jersey during their inaugural season. It is paired with beige pants to complete the vintage feel. What's interesting is, after I completed the uniform, I stumbled upon a concept on Reddit that's identical to the one I created. It might just be pure coincidence on my part, though the concept on Reddit uses a lighter shade of blue while mine features the current shade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

BUFFALO SABRES

 

From one team in the state of New York to another, the Sabres went back to their roots in 2021. As much as I'm a fan of modern looks like the black and red era, I understand the sentiment of the fans to embrace the classic looks like what began in 2010. And so, I decided to retained what the Sabres are wearing now, but with some rectifications.

 

First, I brought back the traditional striping on the pants instead of a single-colored one. And the last one is something that should be fixed with the return to classic look, which is the same color pattern on the sleeve and hem striping. In this case, I went with yellow-white-blue-white-yellow.

 

The alternate uniform I made is taken from a design that the old Buffalo Bisons AHL team wore in the late 60's. The script from that uniform, which was also used for the Sabres' 40th anniversary alternate uniform, is front and center.

 

The Reverse Retro gets interesting, given the news that the team will don the "goathead" as an alternate. In this concept, I just recolored the black uniforms from that era with the navy and yellow palette from the 2010's. Here's a small twist, though: I used the team's current logo instead of the B-sword logo on the shoulders and the black and red era script on the pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

 

The Flyers feature one of the most unique uniform designs in the league, even if the design itself was modified from 1982 to 2007. So, it's no surprise that I decided to retain the team's existing design, but not without any tweaking some details.

 

First, I made the curvy shoulder-to-sleeve yoke wider to allow more room for the TV numbers. Lastly, I made the bottom part of the hem striping black, similar to the Flyers' 50th anniversary uniform. This is to be consistent with the theming on the sleeves.

 

The alternate uniform I made, which is totally devoid of white, is a shoutout to the old Philadelphia Quakers uniform.

 

And then, there's the Reverse Retro, which is a black version of the team's orange alternate from 2002 to 2007. Yeah, that uniform which featured a chrome version of the Flyers' logo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

EDMONTON OILERS

 

2022-23 and beyond is the Oilers' third stint with the 80's dynasty era uniforms, and let's hope that it shall remain this way for eternity. But since this is a forum about concepts, we're going to make changes with what they have now—just minor changes, to be exact.

 

For consistency's sake, I eliminated the orange sleeve ends on the blue jersey, and, just my preference, I repurposed the pants striping from their modern orange jersey years and recolored that particular pants to be paired with the regular blue and white jerseys.

 

Speaking of the modern orange jersey, I brought it back as an alternate.

 

Choosing a Reverse Retro is difficult for a team that rarely changes its look on the ice, and since there are rumors that the Oilers will throw it back to the Todd McFarlane-designed oil drop/gear uniform for the 2022-23 RR uniform, I have decided to use the Reebok Edge design. This time, though, I removed all the piping on the jersey and the pants, leaving the white-navy-orange-navy-white striping as the key design element.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

 

To be honest, Smashville's current uniforms are plain. They don't fit into the nickname and the overall atmosphere at every Preds home game. I'd rather have their final Reebok design for the uniforms, but I understand that we're moving on from piping-heavy designs. And so, I went with a design that is a decent mash-up of all the uniform eras, from the inaugural season up to the present. I know that, upon looking at Google Images, there are similar designs to mine, but I'm sure y'all can tell the difference.

 

The alternate uniform that I made pays tribute to the city itself, being known as "Music City" and "Country Music Capital". The team's guitar pick logo is front and center, and each TV number is enclosed in a circle to embody a guitar's sound hole.

 

Since the Preds already had a Reverse Retro uniform based on their inaugural uniforms, I went with their first Reebok design as the basis, with silver taking over as the base jersey and sock color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

DALLAS STARS

 

The Stars did it right when the team had the NHL All Star uniform-inspired design. But since we're leaning towards simplistic designs nowadays, I decided to simplify things with my home and road uniform concepts, and the final design ended up being filled with chevrons, which reminds me of the Calgary Flames "Blasty" uniforms.

 

For the alternate uniform, I went with the holdover uniforms from the franchise's final years in Minnesota, complete with the vertical Dallas script on the pants. Replacing the old Stars logo is the roundel logo.

 

Finally, my Reverse Retro is taken from the early days of Reebok Edge—yeah, the uniform with the city name and number at the front. This time, though, it's an all-green version of their black uniform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

Before I proceed with the Canadiens, it's been 1 day since the 2022-23 Reverse Retro jerseys were unveiled, and the Sabres RR uniform I created was the closest one to the real thing.

 

The significant difference between the two is in the color palette. The real one has the current colors, while mine has the 2010's colors.

 

Anyway, let me know what are your thoughts on the concepts that were released so far. And if you have a team in mind that I should do after the Habs, let me know it as well.

[JerseyJimmy]

I really like that a lot of your RRs are based on Edge jerseys - funnily enough, I was just thinking about how I'd love to see the Isles' original Edge set with orange as the primary color. really solid stuff all-around.

[edjb93]

MONTREAL CANADIENS

 

The Habs have been wearing the same uniforms for almost eternity, and it's a sacrilege to change the overall design of those uniforms. But for my concepts, I just changed the number font to the one used in the 2016 Winter Classic. And if you have sharp vision, you'll notice that I used lighter shades of red and blue, except for my Reverse Retro uniform concept.

 

I have frequently thought the white version of their red jersey should be in the regular uniform rotation, as was the case from 1944 to 1947 and in the 2006-07 season (the aforementioned WC uniform is a special case). Therefore, I just made one, but with red numbers outlined in white.

 

And finally, here's a team that's even more difficult to conceptualize a Reverse Retro uniform. So, we need to travel all the way back to the 1930's to get the team's first white uniform (done for games against the Red Wings) and recolor the jersey to the darker shade of blue the team is currently using. To complete the era appropriateness (if that's a correct word), I paired the jersey with khaki pants and khaki gloves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edjb93]

16 hours ago, JerseyJimmy said:

I really like that a lot of your RRs are based on Edge jerseys - funnily enough, I was just thinking about how I'd love to see the Isles' original Edge set with orange as the primary color. really solid stuff all-around.

 

Nice observation! It's quite difficult to think of a Reverse Retro design for each team, especially if it used the same uniform design for almost its entire history or if it had only two designs.

 

Just a fun fact, I proposed an Oil Kings-inspired RR uniform for the Oilers, but the design is kinda similar to the Oilers' orange alternate, which is a throwback to their early WHA uniforms. And thus, I eventually settled on their Reebok Edge jerseys.

 

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion! I'm going with the Islanders after the Canadiens.

[edjb93]

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

 

The Isles already have a timeless look, despite some minimal changes for the majority of the team's existence. And so, I left the home and road uniforms as is, but with a minor addition: four lines on the top main stripe (orange on the blue jersey, blue on the white jersey). Why four? It's a reminder of the team's 4 straight Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983, one of several unfathomable feats in NHL history. If they're gonna make it 5, then the lines will be added.

 

The alternate uniform takes us back to the Reebok Edge days, but it's not a Reverse Retro uniform. Per @JerseyJimmy's suggestion, I went with the Isles' orange-sleeved jersey design, with orange and blue switching places. Since it might be redundant to put the primary logo on the alternate, I went with the NY hockey stick logo that's currently used on their real-life alternates.

 

And here's the real Reverse Retro. I think that with the current jersey cut of the Adizero, it's kinda impossible to replicate the wackiness of the "Fisherman" jerseys. Thus, we were treated with an underwhelming version of those infamous jerseys from the late 90's. In my version, I did my very best to emulate that craziness by adding more teal and leaning towards a white-heavy navy uniform, with the white helmets (probably never been done before in the NHL) and socks as the finishing touches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by edjb93
Updated RR number color and sock color