Sports Illustrated reports NHL Uniform changes

[rmackman]

Maybe Reebok will make every team come out to the song "WE'RE MEN! WE'RE MEN IN TIGHTS *TIGHT TIGHTS*! Then instead of HE SCORES! All broadcasters will have to go "Oh wow, that was ssssuper!"

[JQK]

I know this has nothing to do with the discussion, but i'd fu*k her 9 ways to Sunday.

Anyways, i could see a tighter uniform maybe, and maybe just a different way of constructing them....

[Joshawaggie]

this could get scary.

[Suigi]

Uh oh...there's the "Feeling Of Dark Foreboding-o-meter" getting a strong reading again...

Why does everything hockey-related now seem so doomsdayish?

[andrewharrington]

[sarcasm] Carrying a stick slows you down, so they definitely have to get rid of those. Besides that, there is too much padding. It does not hurt when you fall on the ice anymore. Tights and cap sleeves are the uniform of the future. Also look for the super streamlined helmet with tinted visor, and clapping skates with huge, sharp blades too. The new rink will have marked lanes so players can only travel in one direction around the ice. They are actually changing the name of hockey to "speed skating." Oh wait . . . [/sarcasm]

[OnWis97]

My first thought was that they would look like speedskaters. But you know what? They have to sell the jerseys to people like us. If they play in spandex, there is no way anyone is buying authentic jerseys or replicas--if the replicas look TOO real, they'll be too tight. IF they are loose, they won't look real.

My guess is that they will be a bit less baggy. And they will probably add some striping patterns that will make every team look a little bit more alike

[ebod39]

I'll chime in on this topic from someone who's been on the

manufacturer side. From what I know about dealing with players

I do not expect these changes to be about fit or cut of the jersey.

The overall theme when I was with Nike and we dealt with players

was that they like the jerseys "baggy" for lack of a better word.

The thought of a tight, football-esque from fitting jersey just did not

appeal or make sense to them. We messed witht the cut or seaming

of the jerseys to allow for range of motion and to provide ventilated materials

where we could. This is evident in the Nagano jereys and subsequent SJ Sharks & Leafs jerseys.

I can only guess that Reebok is as others have already stated, just

using sublimation and fabrications. IMO jerseys are fine the way they are

and people will continue to explore the many of keeping it fresh.

But until the game and player evolves to a point like football has

where the change of the actual jersey is necessry to the performance

of the athlete, I would not expect a drastic update or evolution based on this

article alone.

And in terms of making pants and jersey snyc up more, god forbid Reebok

do what it's done to the NFL and examples like the Bengals and Pro Bowl unis.

The NHL does not need continuous stripes, side panels and piping. Worse yet, if they mess

with tradition and try to give everyone a common look, yikes. If that's the case I'll

lockout myself from the NHL.