NHL changes for next year

[ElwoodCuse]

And for those saying this will turn them off of hockey: I guess you were never really hockey fans anyway.

There's a difference between being turned off of hockey and turned off of the NHL.

But feel free to drink some more of Gary Bettman's kool-aid.

I'm not going to let the marketing arms of Reebok and the NHL piss all over the tradition of the sport and expect me not to care or worse, go along with it and shell out $$$ to support it.

What would you say to Yankees fans who promised to give up rooting for the team if they switched to polka-dot vest jerseys?

[Fred T. Jane]

In response to hockey not needing magic uniforms to help the players, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that in the experiment at the Olympics, the Swedes won the gold despite being one of two teams not using "swift" uniforms. The other team, Switzerland, also had an excellent tournament.

I dunno about that. Raise your hands if you picked Finland to be in the Gold Medal Game. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

[kiwi_canadian]

And to add to the Swedish Olympic win with the non swift jersey. I'll make it even more confusing. At the last World Champs in Latvia, every team minus Swtizerland, had a swift jersey. And who won the world champs? That's right Sweden with their new Nike Swift style jersey.

[jkrdevil]

In response to hockey not needing magic uniforms to help the players, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that in the experiment at the Olympics, the Swedes won the gold despite being one of two teams not using "swift" uniforms. The other team, Switzerland, also had an excellent tournament.

I dunno about that. Raise your hands if you picked Finland to be in the Gold Medal Game. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Well Finland did make it to the World Cup of Hockey final in 2004. So them being in the Gold Medal game was hardly surprising.

[Fred T. Jane]

Well Finland did make it to the World Cup of Hockey final in 2004. So them being in the Gold Medal game was hardly surprising.

Where was Finland in your Olympic Hockey pool?

[Gothamite]

From the article:

Designers would do well to remember two things: One, the main purpose of the hockey sweater is for fans to wear them in the stands.

[Jezus_Ghoti]

Where did this Fred guy come from and why is he being so in-your-face? Cool it, man. You are making this thread unbearable. It's not funny at all.

(edited because the mods might not have liked my original language)

[Gothamite]

My problem isn't the new material it's new designs. I don't see any reason why that can't update the material and keep the same designs. As Fred T. Jane ended up pointing out they have done it in the past why can't they do it know?

An excellent question.

The NFL tried this same line of bull when they unveiled the new refs uniforms. As if modern fabrics can't "do" even, vertical stripes....

[cachechs]

So typical of today's society that they need to ruin a good thing. Hockey jerseys are fine the way they are now, leave them alone!!!!

[CC97]

So, a print like this is possible using old technology:

But a print like this isn't possible using the new tecnology?

If such a simple design is impossible, perhaps this new technology requires a little more work before it's ready to be adopted leaguewide

[whalersjets]

I'll get bashed but I like the change. But I disagree with this if teams like Montreal, New York, and Chicago have to change their jerseys though.

There's got to be a way to incorporate new age fabrics w/o screwing w/ the design element.And we d@mn well know that there's a way that it can be done.

But it's Reebok, so that wont happen.

[Brian in Boston]

I'm not going to let the marketing arms of Reebok and the NHL piss all over the tradition of the sport and expect me not to care or worse, go along with it and shell out $$$ to support it.

Uniform designs, as well as the materials said uniforms are constructed of, have been in a state of flux throughout the history of professional sports.

I don't see any Major League Baseball teams taking to the field in baggy wool flannel anymore, National Football League teams sporting leather helmets or National Basketball Association clubs wearing satin shorts that resemble Speedo bathing suits. Believe me, if baseball survived such storied franchises as the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs all succumbing to pull-overs and stretch waistbands during the 1970s and early-1980s, the NHL can deal with a more streamlined uniform being introduced. Those changes in uniforms didn't "piss all over the tradition of" their respective sports; neither will the NHL's changes.

Let's all just take a deep, cleansing breath and come back in from out on the ledge. Times change. The NHL will survive the evolution of the hockey uniform.

[Fred T. Jane]

Where did this Fred guy come from and why is he being so in-your-face?

Nowhere you can find without a GPS.

If such a simple design is impossible, perhaps this new technology requires a little more work before it's ready to be adopted leaguewide

The amusing thing is that it isn't impossible. Though I can't find an image of it, I have seen swift jersey designs (not concepts on this board) with horizontal stripes on the waist. I can't find them though. Perhaps I'm just delusional...

[ElwoodCuse]

I'm not going to let the marketing arms of Reebok and the NHL piss all over the tradition of the sport and expect me not to care or worse, go along with it and shell out $$$ to support it.

Uniform designs, as well as the materials said uniforms are constructed of, have been in a state of flux throughout the history of professional sports.

Just because "times change" doesn't mean this isn't a horrible idea. Look at those baseball TATC uniforms that we all chuckle about here. If MLB said, league-wide, those would be standard next year, would you dismiss the outrage over it as "oh get over it, get with the times, things change"?

Again, materials, I don't care. Jersey cut, I don't care. But radical changes to striping and logos, basically overnight? F that.

[Brian in Boston]

Look at those baseball TATC uniforms that we all chuckle about here. If MLB said, league-wide, those would be standard next year, would you dismiss the outrage over it as "oh get over it, get with the times, things change"?

Again, materials I don't car. Jersey cut, I don't care. But radical changes to striping and logos, basically overnight? F that.

First of all, we have absolutely no idea that the ultimate adjustments to be made to the vast majority of NHL uniforms will entail "radical changes to striping and logos", let alone approach the purposely envelope-pushing, one-off designs that constituted MLB's "Turn Ahead the Clock" promotion. Even raising the spectre of such wholesale changes being commonplace across the entirety of the NHL is - at best - highly speculative rumor. Nothing more, nothing less.

Simply put, just because management of the Buffalo Sabres chose to adopt a miserable new logo this season does not mean that each and every NHL franchise is about to introduce a miserable new logo. Just because the management of the Buffalo Sabres chose to roll out a new uniform template featuring a modern, rather than traditional, striping pattern this season does not mean that each and every NHL franchise is about to introduce a modernistic striping package to their uniforms.

Bottom line? The NHL has given no indication that graphics-wise a hockey equivalent of MLB's TATC uniforms are about to be introduced as the standard on-ice clothing in the league. Rather than allowing our collective imagination to run away with us, we should all wait to see what the "new" uniform designs actually look like before having a coniption about them.

[BBM]

If such a simple design is impossible, perhaps this new technology requires a little more work before it's ready to be adopted leaguewide

Of course the simple designs are possible. It's all about the merchandising, my friend (isn't it always?). A league-wide change means 30 different markets will have to buy their favorite team/player's jersey all over again, with new stripes and logos. This is massive amounts of dollars for Reebok, and I'm convinced their sole motivation. I find it impossible to believe a need for such a change in the league other than that.

[hecticbro]

Then how come football kits are in the never-ending quest to be lighter, drier, and less wind-resistant than before? Need I bring up research regarding track and field uniforms and skin-suits in competitative swimming?

Because soccer players, swimmers, and runners

1. Do not wear bulky equipment

2. Do not wear skates

I'm not sure if you play hockey (I do). I'm not sure if you play football (I don't), a sport with similar bulky equipment that has seen considerable changes in uniform design lately for similar reasons, but I don't see anything wrong with trying to improve on the quality of playing equipment. By your reasoning, maybe goaltenders should go back to Jason masks (or baseball caps)?

[Captain Poncho]

Rather than allowing our collective imagination to run away with us, we should all wait to see what the "new" uniform designs actually look like before having a coniption about them.

This would mean deviating from the time-honored tradition of pre-emptive knicker-twisting amongst some of the rabid traditionalists here.

[budbowl77]

Man, this bites..so what does this mean for us fans? 500.00 replica jerseys?

[hecticbro]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the actual changes in most team's jersey designs will be minimal, if at all. At most, maybe you'll see the bottom stripe disappear from the red Detroit jerseys and the Rangers use a logo crest.... That's nothing crazy, and I'm a life-long Wings fan.