NHL to use RBK unis

[Neon_Matrix]

Really the jerseys are far far far better than what they rolled out with at the World Cup. Everyone is bashing Bettman and Reebok for doing this to the NHL jerseys but you have to remember that they pulled back on this after the backlash they got from the super fitted, tucked in, vertical striped, 1 template fits all crap they were going to put out the season of the lockout (I think it was then).

As for the losing of horizontal stripes because there is no room....they seems to be plenty of room on the All Star jersey. I don't know why they can't put a little extra material there to try to not disrupt as many designs as they will (i.e. Ottawa Black and both Hurricanes jerseys) by eliminating them.

Just my two cents worth.

Did... did you not read anything that has been said? THERE WILL BE HORIZONTAL STRIPES AND MOST TEAMS WILL LOOK IDENTICAL OR VERY SIMILAR TO HOW THEY LOOK NOW!!!!! I'm sorry I seem so angered but come on, how many times has it been written that they wont resemble the Olympic jerseys? Geez, people need to learn how to read before they type. I wouldn't care so much if this wasn't my 4th time or so on the last 3 pages reiterating this point.

BTW goalieboy82, which part disgusts you the most... the fact its a lovely Leafs jersey or the fact you can see the guys pubes?

[leedsunited]

Exactly. I think we know that the classics aren't changing and if the Dallas Stars or some other team of their ilk go "vertical", who really minds?

I'm going to take a complete stab in the dark and say the frothing throngs here...

Really? I didn't know that people were that attached to the Stars' current look. Or say the Predators' shirt. I always thought the vitriol was reserved for the classics (i.e. the Red Wings, The Habs, the Leafs, et al) potentially changing their timeless looks.

There's nothing timeless about some other teams' sets, however.

[FlyersHockey1967]

You know what? No matter how they look, I appreciate the fact that RBK and the NHL collaborated with the players, letting them add in their suggestions and 2 cents, even pushing back the release date of their system till next season.

No matter what comes out on Monday, at least it won't be that failure of a basketball.

[Roger Clemente]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=192759&hubname=

NHL set to unveil new jerseys in Dallas

Canadian Press

1/18/2007 6:54:49 PM

The NHL's new uniforms are about player comfort and not fan merchandising, according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

"The focus on this was never about fashion, it was never about retail," Bettman told The Canadian Press on Thursday. "It was about getting the players into a uniform that would be better, that would enable them to have a better range of motion, that would keep them cooler, that would be more aerodynamically fit, that would keep their protective equipment in place, that would be safer. That has been the focus."

The new jerseys will be worn by the NHL all-stars in Dallas next week and then by the entire league next season. That's also when they'll go on sale for the public.

So far there's been a lot of words but not many pictures of the new look.

So much for the rumours of a radical one-piece outfit that would make the players look like robots.

"I think there was a lot of speculation and I think a bit much prognosticating on things that people really didn't know about," said Bettman. "But you know, that's OK, it created a lot of interest. The fact of the matter is, this was a very slow and pain-staking process with the goal to get it right."

The uniform, three years in the making, is a little tighter than the current jersey but not as much as the Nike ones worn by Team Canada at last year's Olympics.

The look of the new uniform may not be drastically different, but the feel is. It's dryer, lighter and more flexible.

"It really is just modernizing the NHL uniform and taking advantage of a lot of materials and technologies that exist in the world of sports today and applying it to the game of hockey," Matt O'Toole, president and CEO of Reebok/CCM Hockey, said Thursday.

The biggest change is the fabric, a water resistant material that retains 76 per cent less moisture than the current NHL jersey. Hence it's lighter.

"One of the players was saying, `You won't feel like you're carrying 10 pounds on your back.' That's exactly right," said Bettman. "And it'll keep body temperatures four to 10 degrees lower. The point is guys will be less fatigued at the end of the game."

The new jersey also features stretch mesh in areas including the underarms and back which apparently provides for an additional range of motion.

For a sport that's largely had the same jersey for decades, some people won't like it. But Bettman believes any criticism will eventually be forgotten.

"Change is always something for which, particularly in sports, there's no shortage of opinion," said Bettman. "But if you go back and look at uniforms in the other sports over the years, you look at football uniforms and how the went from being loose and baggy to form fitting.

"The fact is, when the players actually get in them and feel how good they feel, the reaction from the fans will be, you won't notice it after the second game."

The full launch goes Monday at a news conference in Dallas. Just don't expect Bettman to come out wearing the new uniform.

"Will I be wearing them? No," Bettman laughed. "I assure you that they will look better on any of the players than they will look on me."

The article is accompanied by that same photo of Sidney Crosby in the Eastern All-Star uniform, so the pic is real.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[beesharps]

To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to some of the teams changing their looks. It will give some teams a chance to rebalance their looks (ie. Ottawa, Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia) after having added third jersey upon third jersey over the years.

[rams80]

My only rebuttal to Mr. Bettman is that the fans DO matter, and that maybe a less cavalier attitude to them would be welcome. Since, I dunno, we help your league stay in business.

(Gets ready for another wave of those edited "thank you fans" ice shots)

[letterform]

I still don't like the cut of the All Star template. However, if it's just the All Star jersey and a few non hockey markets like Anaheim and Nashville that get the fashion jersey treatment, I won't care too much, as long as they don't mess with the traditional hockey teams. I'm not exhaling just yet though, because Reebok is still driving the design bus for all 30 teams as mentioned in countless articles. They better have tied Reeboks hands on a few designs. Talk that all teams are switching over their current designs is purely speculative.

As for fans "overreacting" and acting "paranoid", if it weren't for all the backlash we'd be looking at a combination between cooperalls and the Nike swift. I still don't agree with the basic template, but it's better than what Reebok wanted.

[NickNickNick]

Uh...4-10 degrees lower? Players are going to be dying of hypothermia because of these uniforms?

[kiwi_canadian]

Ok now that we know they aren't going to be that bad as everyone was thinking, who are the teams that are getting a complete overhaul to either uniforms, logos, or both? I know Toronto is getting s light makeover of their current logo, I heard Dallas is getting a complete overhaul in the uniforms and I also heard Boston as well. Am I right and are there any others?

[29a]

Tonight on "That's Hockey" on TSN in Canada, Gord Miller is going to be looking at the new jerseys more indepth.

In the preview, they show him wearing a Western Conference All Star jersey and they show him stretching the sides a bit.

Should be a good watch.

[refuse]

Uh...4-10 degrees lower? Players are going to be dying of hypothermia because of these uniforms?

Uh.. yah because we all know you dont get any warmer while playing hockey

[matthager]

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejacket...0119-F1-05.html

The Blue Jackets are switching to their (far superior) third-jersey logo next year with the new jerseys coming in.

[JGraz15]

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejacket...0119-F1-05.html

The Blue Jackets are switching to their (far superior) third-jersey logo next year with the new jerseys coming in.

Best news in a long time!

[Wthrw]

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejacket...0119-F1-05.html

The Blue Jackets are switching to their (far superior) third-jersey logo next year with the new jerseys coming in.

Doug MacLean says in the article that the Blue Jackets won't be unveiling their new uniforms until the offseason. Which, unfortunately, seems to imply that we probably won't see a full unveiling of the new uniforms for all 30 teams this Monday...

[Stampman]

As long as they are more interesting than the bland all star unis...

The allstar game should feature flashy unis--not bland ones--the all-star game already puts me to sleep--not the unis too!

[eSabre]

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejacket...0119-F1-05.html

The Blue Jackets are switching to their (far superior) third-jersey logo next year with the new jerseys coming in.

Weak.

This probably means the end of the neon green. What a shame.

[allie2002ca]

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejacket...0119-F1-05.html

The Blue Jackets are switching to their (far superior) third-jersey logo next year with the new jerseys coming in.

Doug MacLean says in the article that the Blue Jackets won't be unveiling their new uniforms until the offseason. Which, unfortunately, seems to imply that we probably won't see a full unveiling of the new uniforms for all 30 teams this Monday...

That line from the article kinda jumped out at me, too...

Does anyone else think that we might have misunderstood what is happening and that Monday's "unveiling" might just be of the All-Star uniforms (even though by now everyone has seen them)? It seems too good to be true to have 30 complete, ready-to-go team uniforms being launched on one day, including the fact that it appears there are a few teams (Dalles? Washington? Boston?) which will be undergoing logo/colour/sweater designs makeovers.

Do we have actual evidence in print that on Monday we will see the unis that all 30 teams will be wearing next year?

[OMMF]

Do we have actual evidence in print that on Monday we will see the unis that all 30 teams will be wearing next year?

No, in fact, you have proof you won't. You even quoted it. The best you could hope for would be 29.

[BRice16]

If I had to bet I would say that we'll see the original six jerseys on Monday and that they won't have changed at all. At minimum we'll see teams with no change just so the NHL can quiet the brewing storm that we've created.

[BadSeed84]

Im hoping to see the flyers jersey,

It would be so awesome if their new road jersey was orange again, in the normal style (or at least one similar to it, unlike their current 3rds)