Montreal Canadiens test NHL's new jerseys

[Roger Clemente 196]

Let me see, hockey jerseys are being infused with a shiny, plastisized material, designed to bead sweat.

How much do I want my sweat to bead, when I'm hanging out with friends at the pub, hoisting a ice cold Molson? How much do I want my hockey jersey to shine?

Hockey jerseys over a pair of jeans at the local bar, is a tradition where I come, and a great looking one, in a casual friendly place.

I feel the same way. I enjoy wearing my jersey to a sports bar over a pair of jeans. But in all honesty, how often do you sweat over your jersey? How much shine do you honestly expect the jersey to have? The pics on this eBay auction don't show any more shine than any of the NHL jerseys I already own.

Now I am being asked to wear something semi-plastic that clings to my body like Speedo material.

Uhmmm....the only thing that's going to be different in terms of size is the sleeves. A size 52 body width jersey is still going to be a size 52. A jersey that is a size XL body width is still going to be a size XL. And even if they are tighter, you could always wear a size up.

The NHL doesn't get it. They bow down to every corporation that wants to throw money down and try something "new" with their game. This is their latest two-step in this dance.

Well it isn't like doing nothing is getting them anywhere.

The most ridiculous thing of all of this, is how much damage control the NHL has gone into, as letterform rightly notes.

The only damage the NHL had in regards to the Edge jerseys was the initial rumors that it was going to possess nothing but vertical stripes and could only be worn when tucked into a player's pants. Although it was probably never intended to be used that way full time, the fan backlash definately put an end to any of that. The backlash the NHL is experiencing now regarding the Edge jersey (and almost all it from this collective of a few thousand on this message board) is that people assume the new NHL team jerseys is going to somewhat resemble the All-Star jerseys, which was never mentioned anywhere by anything RBK or the NHL released. It's completely unwarrented.

The league is in a serious stage of atrophy and teetering on financial collapse in several markets, with a TV deal worse than soccer, and losing in the ratings to poker tournaments on ESPN2.

So Bettman's reaction to this crisis, is to weave bits of plastic-polymer into the thread of the jerseys and start selling "space jerseys" at 300 dollars a shot. Then they unveil this new idea, with some of the ugliest all-star jerseys ever seen by the eyes of man.

I don't see anything about plastic found at this website. And the part about the All-Star jerseys being ugly is purely a matter of opinion. I happened to love them. And, even if the All-Star jerseys are ugly, probably none of the NHL teams are going to look the least bit like them.

When the fan reacts negatively, they spin the thing all over their website, CBC and Versus, in an effort to brainwash us, that we love these jerseys, because they are "cool".

I don't recall ever seeing any spin, or even any public backlash outside of this message board. I've seen numerous articles talking about the structure and material, but I've never seen anyone (who isn't an NHL player) even call them cool. Never mind that the only thing we have to base all of our judgement on is the All-Star jerseys, and even those aren't going to resemble any of the NHL's teams jerseys.

Meanwhile, the real issues challenging the sport go unaddressed and continue to fester and die.

Revolution?

Damn straight, sign me up, I want this Robespierre of a commissioner out of hockey.

Which real issues? Do you mean the scheduling? The league's GMs voted against changing it. Bettman had nothing to do with it.

Personally, I welcome the Edge jersey with open arms.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[][ncognito 0]

Let me see, hockey jerseys are being infused with a shiny, plastisized material, designed to bead sweat.

How much do I want my sweat to bead, when I'm hanging out with friends at the pub, hoisting a ice cold Molson? How much do I want my hockey jersey to shine?

Hockey jerseys over a pair of jeans at the local bar, is a tradition where I come, and a great looking one, in a casual friendly place.

I feel the same way. I enjoy wearing my jersey to a sports bar over a pair of jeans. But in all honesty, how often do you sweat over your jersey? How much shine do you honestly expect the jersey to have? The pics on this eBay auction don't show any more shine than any of the NHL jerseys I already own.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

My biggest problem with the jerseys is the stupid tag going on the lower front of the jersey like in football instead of in the back of the neck where it should be.

That's just simply hideous.

[charger77 1,767]

[ncognito' date=Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 - 14:30:17' post='719653]

Let me see, hockey jerseys are being infused with a shiny, plastisized material, designed to bead sweat.

How much do I want my sweat to bead, when I'm hanging out with friends at the pub, hoisting a ice cold Molson? How much do I want my hockey jersey to shine?

Hockey jerseys over a pair of jeans at the local bar, is a tradition where I come, and a great looking one, in a casual friendly place.

I feel the same way. I enjoy wearing my jersey to a sports bar over a pair of jeans. But in all honesty, how often do you sweat over your jersey? How much shine do you honestly expect the jersey to have? The pics on this eBay auction don't show any more shine than any of the NHL jerseys I already own.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

My biggest problem with the jerseys is the stupid tag going on the lower front of the jersey like in football instead of in the back of the neck where it should be.

That's just simply hideous.

I don't like the NHL logo at the neck!

Dan

[ElwoodCuse 187]

Which real issues? Do you mean the scheduling? The league's GMs voted against changing it. Bettman had nothing to do with it.

As retarded as the schedule is, that's still pretty far down the list on serious problems facing the NHL.

And "the GM's" didn't vote it down, either, a handful of teams bitched about like Nashville and Ottawa and Montreal. A good majority of teams wanted it changed, just not enough of a majority.

But enjoy letting Bettman continue to run around like a chicken with no head ruining the game and pissing all over what fans are left.

[Roger Clemente 196]

Which real issues? Do you mean the scheduling? The league's GMs voted against changing it. Bettman had nothing to do with it.

As retarded as the schedule is, that's still pretty far down the list on serious problems facing the NHL.

And "the GM's" didn't vote it down, either, a handful of teams bitched about like Nashville and Ottawa and Montreal. A good majority of teams wanted it changed, just not enough of a majority.

But enjoy letting Bettman continue to run around like a chicken with no head ruining the game and pissing all over what fans are left.

Well, then what are these issues? In spite of all the issues the NHL has going for it now, I enjoy the game and all facets of the game itself the way they are. The game. Not necessarily how the game is marketed, in which, at least in the US, it needs a swift kick in the rear. But to me, the way the on ice product is run is a-okay.

I find Bettman gets blamed for a lot more than he deserves to be blamed for. It wasn't his decision to bring in the shootout. It wasn't his decision to have the lockout. It wasn't his decision when stupid players go out and commit stupid crimes on the ice and give the league a black eye. And it isn't as if he's trying to get the league exposed in the US, but he can only take what's offered to him because the league can not afford to offer itself to something else.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[Snazel 0]

I find Bettman gets blamed for a lot more than he deserves to be blamed for.

The league is a disaster right now, it has atrophied and withered in the last ten years.

You must blame leadership for this decline. It's how leadership works, you take responsibility when the product you are in charge of, diminishes.

Bettman has held the reigns while the league goes through very dangerous decline. The man has no charisma, and no love for the sport. He's a terrible leader for the NHL product, because he inspires noone and he himself seems bored with his own product.

The proof is in the pudding, the NHL is in a bad state of affairs, and since Bettman is in charge, he must be blamed. You can't correct the course of a ship, without first replacing the Captain.

FIRE HIM.

We have nothing to lose.

[molsonck54 0]

Most comfortable jersey I have ever worn and the fit is great. The jersey feels realatively the same weight but when you put it on it seems that all the weight is in the body; you can barely tell the sleeves are there because they are so light.

As for the price it is steep, but then again a Minnesota Vikings authentic goes for $315 at the NFL shop and a football jersey is less intricate then a hockey jersey. Football is all numbers, hockey at least has a crest on the front.

[Roger Clemente 196]

I find Bettman gets blamed for a lot more than he deserves to be blamed for.

The league is a disaster right now, it has atrophied and withered in the last ten years.

You must blame leadership for this decline. It's how leadership works, you take responsibility when the product you are in charge of, diminishes.

Bettman has held the reigns while the league goes through very dangerous decline. The man has no charisma, and no love for the sport. He's a terrible leader for the NHL product, because he inspires noone and he himself seems bored with his own product.

The proof is in the pudding, the NHL is in a bad state of affairs, and since Bettman is in charge, he must be blamed. You can't correct the course of a ship, without first replacing the Captain.

FIRE HIM.

We have nothing to lose.

Is the league in better shape now than it was three years ago, or is it not?

And even if Bettman is relieved of his duties, who's to say the next commissioner will be able to fix the problems Gary supposedly is responsible for or will not put the league in even worse shape?

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[dutyfree 0]

The game itself is still wonderful. Still enjoyable. I think the rule changes, etc., haven't diminished the game at all. I don't really think much about leadership when I have no problem with the game. Same with baseball--a bunch of millionaires looking to add to their millions can try to wreck themselves in their efforts--but the game remains solid and entertaining.

Now if a few select teams would get their dang logos right (I would list the culprits but that's another argument), then we would have something to market.

[Frenchie 131]

On the topic of Changing looks, and new type of Jerseys, didn't Soccer go through something similar recently, with totally differnt type of "template" vertical wavy stripes?

I don't see the sport suffering from that redesign.

Actually, I see tons of guys around here using these type of concepts and applying them to different sports.

There's something to be said about thradition, but there is also something for evolution, ask the Dinosaurs... Oh wait! They're not around anymore, are they?

As far as the NHL goes, I wasn't aweare there was something wrong with it. Other than the Leafs (the only team ever to put up a celebration for its 30-year losing streak) aren't going to win the cup for at least another 2 years, and I still can't get a ticket at the box office.

The only thing I reproach Bettman is making it look like he want's World Domination (or is it just people saying he does?).

Nothing wrong with being the Nation's 6th (or 7th or 8th) most watched sport. As long as the owners are making enough money to keep it going, and the last CBA addressed that. We don't need to convert people, this ain't a religion.

The game hasn't changed that much, it's still the sport with the fastest projectile.

This season will bring us the tightest playoffs race ever.

[-Helix- 0]

This thread is hilarious. Unfortunately I think many of you are serious.

NHL fans definitely get the reward for biggest over-reactors ever.

"OMGZ DA JERZIES R SLYTLY TITER ITS DA END OF DA WEEEEERLD"

Can't help but laugh at the "NHL is in downfall and is dying" stuff either. The NHL is probably the most popular it's ever been, putting the best product on the ice it's had in years. Ratings may be down, but by very little. People seem to think that the crappy ratings are due to being on NBC and Versus. But guess what, the NHL has ALWAYS HAD CRAPPY RATINGS - EVEN ON ESPN AND ABC.

[Don 7]

the problem nhl diehards have, i think, is the lockout really, the lockout started a bad change of events that has traditionalists worried that they are taking the game away from us and trying to sell it to new fans, thats whats been talked about in the media by gary bettman himself, he says they need to win new fans, and i feel that the game is starting to get watered down. as far as the "new nhl" goes, they are calling the rules by the book, no the shootout is a piss poor way to decide games, but if u hate ties so much, u come up with something new to decide it.

as far as the jerseys go, i dont have a problem with it, every league evolves, and its not the leagues problem if the fans dont like them. they are changing the jerseys becuz they see a need to improve them, and they are doing something about it, with input from the players, that i give them that much credit for doing. its not the fans who have to wear them for a living its the players and theyre the only ones who need to have any input on them whatsoever. you can nitpick about the damn nhl logo on the collar, and the tag being in the front, not the back, deal with it, its not the end of the world.

[CityOfWalrus 104]

I find Bettman gets blamed for a lot more than he deserves to be blamed for.

The league is a disaster right now, it has atrophied and withered in the last ten years.

You must blame leadership for this decline. It's how leadership works, you take responsibility when the product you are in charge of, diminishes.

Bettman has held the reigns while the league goes through very dangerous decline. The man has no charisma, and no love for the sport. He's a terrible leader for the NHL product, because he inspires noone and he himself seems bored with his own product.

The proof is in the pudding, the NHL is in a bad state of affairs, and since Bettman is in charge, he must be blamed. You can't correct the course of a ship, without first replacing the Captain.

FIRE HIM.

We have nothing to lose.

I actually think the league is alot better than it was like 4 years ago...

-You see more excitement in fast breaks with the new rules.

-Smaller players are finally getting respect like they should now. Gionta being 5'6 is known as a high caliber player but 4years ago players his size were getting shoved down because of thier size now the league embraces it.

-The league now has a new wave of young superstars like it did back in good times such as 1991-95 with Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Stastny, Kopitar, and such almost the new Fedorov, Bure, Jagr and etc..

-The shootout still hasn't won over all the fans but it never will hell some fans still complain that players have helmets you never are gonna change everyones mind and I find myself wanting to see a shootout more than a overtime win.

-Bettman isn't that bad but seriously who are you gonna bring in and how do you know that that person will be the lord and savior of the NHL to bring it more popular than the NFL or MLB? No one because no matter what you do the NHL will never be more popular in the US than Football or MLB or even basketball..

I think you are looking at the new jersey material wayy to hard and looking into it way to much stop crying if you don't like the new jersey idea then don't buy them... im sure ebay will be crawling with hockey jerseys forever...

[Neon_Matrix 0]

On the topic of Changing looks, and new type of Jerseys, didn't Soccer go through something similar recently, with totally differnt type of "template" vertical wavy stripes?

I don't see the sport suffering from that redesign.

Actually, I see tons of guys around here using these type of concepts and applying them to different sports.

There's something to be said about thradition, but there is also something for evolution, ask the Dinosaurs... Oh wait! They're not around anymore, are they?

As far as the NHL goes, I wasn't aweare there was something wrong with it. Other than the Leafs (the only team ever to put up a celebration for its 30-year losing streak) aren't going to win the cup for at least another 2 years, and I still can't get a ticket at the box office.

The only thing I reproach Bettman is making it look like he want's World Domination (or is it just people saying he does?).

Nothing wrong with being the Nation's 6th (or 7th or 8th) most watched sport. As long as the owners are making enough money to keep it going, and the last CBA addressed that. We don't need to convert people, this ain't a religion.

The game hasn't changed that much, it's still the sport with the fastest projectile.

This season will bring us the tightest playoffs race ever.

Hey, I'm DAMN proud of our 40 year losing streak! If anything, its the fault of the other 24 "new" teams that we have been so impotent for so damn long! We've tried new logos, new jerseys, hell, even new materials and all we have achieved is two visits to the Confrence Finals, missing the playoffs numerous times (like this season), squandering prospects and draft pics (do the names Luongo, Niedermayer, Cheevers, Parent, (even Orr!!!) and various others I cannot name off the top of my head at the moment ring any bells??), losing key players to stupid greedy owners and managers AND still always managing to sell out the arena and I believe make the most money of any team in the League. I mean hell, if the Chicago Cubs or even Boston Red Sox could survive for so long without winning anything and only gain popularity as they spend more time without their name on a trophy then I'm sure my Leafs will only get more and more powerful and do more and more stupid things as time progresses. Who knows though, maybe by honoring our last Stanley Cup win people will realise "holy crap, 40 years is a long time" and you know, maybe try to win another one. I love my Leafies with a passion but man have they done some REAL stupid things in the past when it comes to their player management from alienation to just being ripped off... but really... their shafting isn't nearly as bad as the New York Islanders have experienced over the past decade!

Back to the topic... I'm excited for the changes in jerseys. Some teams will be able to improve their image and even create something new. Others will probably be able to keep their known identity completly intact and suffer only minor problems such as resembling the fit hockey jerseys had up until the 80's when mesh jerseys were popularized. This isn't going to be like the Cooperals, this is something actually useful. Sure they are expensive now but the prices WILL go down as the cost of the materials go down. I'm looking forward to seeing players not have 5 inches of fabric hanging down below their arms and becoming instant hookers because they have so much damned fabric in the way that the blade will just get tangled up (case in point Bill Guerin, I swear the man doesn't wear any shoulder pads and wears a jersey thats 10X too big for him!!!). Bring on the Edge system and please, make our league look sexier, make them the REAL "sex on ice!" (10 pts to anyone who can pick up the last reference!!)

[Snazel 0]

I don't want to derail a thread too far, but when I read stuff like this...

The NHL is probably the most popular it's ever been

I just have to wince. How is the game going to be saved, when its fans have their head in the clouds?

Have you seen the ratings? NHL is being beaten by bowling and poker. Three years ago, playoff ratings were at 1.5 and last year's playoffs were staggering 0.4. 25% of what they were three years ago.

There are late night shows on BET that get better draw than that folks.

The Stanley Cup final (broadcast on a major network) was 42% lower than it was 10 years ago, and 35% lower than it was just four years ago.

Oh but there will be new fashion to wear next year hurray! The commissioner is doing a great job!

The league is in serious atrophy, and rather than firing the leadership that got us to this position, we're going to focus on the fact that next year the teams will don shiny, plastic jerseys that will cost 50% more than they do now.

The new jerseys aren't the end of the world, that's true, but its just sad that the NHL thinks this is a smart move and is focusing so much energy on it, when the sport is in serious, serious decline.

My apologies for straying off topic, I've said my last piece on this, you can go back to talking about fashion...

[stimpy 0]

Let me see, hockey jerseys are being infused with a shiny, plastisized material, designed to bead sweat.

How much do I want my sweat to bead, when I'm hanging out with friends at the pub, hoisting a ice cold Molson? How much do I want my hockey jersey to shine?

Hockey jerseys over a pair of jeans at the local bar, is a tradition where I come, and a great looking one, in a casual friendly place. Now I am being asked to wear something semi-plastic that clings to my body like Speedo material.

The NHL doesn't get it. They bow down to every corporation that wants to throw money down and try something "new" with their game. This is their latest two-step in this dance.

The most ridiculous thing of all of this, is how much damage control the NHL has gone into, as letterform rightly notes. The league is in a serious stage of atrophy and teetering on financial collapse in several markets, with a TV deal worse than soccer, and losing in the ratings to poker tournaments on ESPN2.

So Bettman's reaction to this crisis, is to weave bits of plastic-polymer into the thread of the jerseys and start selling "space jerseys" at 300 dollars a shot. Then they unveil this new idea, with some of the ugliest all-star jerseys ever seen by the eyes of man.

When the fan reacts negatively, they spin the thing all over their website, CBC and Versus, in an effort to brainwash us, that we love these jerseys, because they are "cool".

Meanwhile, the real issues challenging the sport go unaddressed and continue to fester and die.

Revolution?

Damn straight, sign me up, I want this Robespierre of a commissioner out of hockey.

Yeah man! Fight the power! Seriouslly, the NHL has been messing up pretty bad. This will probably end up like the new NBA ball. Gone in year or less.

[Brian in Boston 2,532]

How much do I want my sweat to bead, when I'm hanging out with friends at the pub, hoisting a ice cold Molson?

When the air-conditioner in your local pub happens to conk out while crowded with enthusiastic hockey fans who have gathered to watch the Stanley Cup Finals in June, you and your friends will actually benefit from the moisture-wicking properties of the new jerseys.

I can't wait to purchase my brand new authentic Boston Bruins Reebok Edge jersey... for all of those nights when the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff action is so HOT that I just have to stay COOL.

[JStamper 6]

How much do I want my sweat to bead, when I'm hanging out with friends at the pub, hoisting a ice cold Molson?

When the air-conditioner in your local pub happens to conk out while crowded with enthusiastic hockey fans who have gathered to watch the Stanley Cup Finals in June, you and your friends will actually benefit from the moisture-wicking properties of the new jerseys.

I can't wait to purchase my brand new authentic Boston Bruins Reebok Edge jersey... for all of those nights when the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff action is so HOT that I just have to stay COOL.

Good point, but as a fellow Bruins fan, I hate to remind you that we won't be joining the playoff fun once again. I was watching a replay of the 7th game of the Adams division final last night between the Bruins and Canadians from 1991 (Bruins won 2-1). God, it made me feel even worse about what happened to the Bruins since that time. How do we go from the days of Ray Bourque and Cam Neely to this?????

[Brian in Boston 2,532]

The league is a disaster right now, it has atrophied and withered in the last ten years.

Bettman has held the reigns while the league goes through very dangerous decline.

I've got news for you, the NHL was in a decline long before Bettman arrived on the scene. Why? Because at the end of the day, the vast majority of major professional ice hockey's traditional fan-base has always been heavily regional in nature. Said regions are, for the most part, Canada and the Northern tier of the United States.

Unfortunately, in the modern era of major professional North American sports, a successful league is going to need more than just Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, New York, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis and Denver to survive. It's going to need more than just the assertion of so-called "hard-core" and "die-hard" fans that a return to such markets as Quebec City, Winnipeg and Hartford will stabilize the NHL's future.

The fact of the matter is that modern professional sports are a business. BIG business. In no other place is that truer than North America. Gary Bettman didn't create that situation. It developed long before he took the reigns of the NHL. Further, it's not about to change. As a result, any major professional sports league with a hope of remaining truly relevant in the North American marketplace has to do all that in can to grow it's fan-base as large as it can. That's what lures deep-pocketed business partners to the table.

Catering solely to the Rust Belt and smaller Canadian markets isn't going to cut it over the long haul. Like it or not, the NHL's owners decided that they had to try and reach out to so-called "non-traditional" hockey markets throughout the United States in order to remain relevant in the eyes of potential business partners. Frankly, trying is the right thing to do. Building up the sport in those markets... creating a new and expanded base of fans... trying to win converts in those markets over to the sport is the right thing to do. Targeting other growing markets with major corporate presences in them as possible homes for franchises that may need to be relocated - albeit, as a last resort - is the right thing to do.

All of that said, the NHL may ultimately find out that it is nothing more than a regional entity, appealing to fans in a few specific pockets of the North American continent. So be it. That said, those fans had better be willing to reconcile themselves to the fact that such a league will run the risk of being marginalized even beyond where they believe the sport is foundering now. And said marginalization will have nothing to do with Gary Bettman. Rather, it will most likely be directly attributable to the fact that the sport of ice hockey proved to have limited appeal... nothing more, nothing less.

Bottom line? Gary Bettman's not the blundering oaf that far too many "traditional" NHL fans love to make him out to be. He's an all-too-convenient scapegoat for NHL fans who are loathe to admit that it may just be the case that major professional ice hockey does not have the widespread appeal of major professional baseball, basketball or football in North America. That doesn't mean that having been hired by the NHL's owners to serve as commissioner that Bettman shouldn't try everything in his power to grow the league and the sport. He should continue to do so until such a time as the NHL's owners, players and fans can honestly say that they'd be content to see the NHL go back to being a 12-to-16-team league... albeit, this time in a much more crowded pro sports marketplace, where a regional league might well get really lost amongst the bevy of niche-sport offerings out there.

How do we go from the days of Ray Bourque and Cam Neely to this?????

Sixteen more years of Jeremy Jacobs' stewardship over the Bruins franchise, that's how.

You want to talk about a truly malevolent figure in hockey, Jacobs is your man. I have to laugh when so-called "die hard", "traditional" hockey fans piss and moan about Bettman's supposed abuse of the NHL. Spare me. It's the likes of Jeremy Jacobs and Bill Wirtz who have done the true damage. They've destroyed the NHL at the local level by running once-proud franchises into the ground, alienating vast numbers of fans in the process. Bettman is a prince-amongst-men compared to these guys.

[_RH_ 584]

I agree with Clemente, these jerseys have been overblown. Of all the things happening to hockey now, these jerseys aren't the most important thing we should be talking about.

Hockey was mentioned on ESPN yesterday. You know why? Because they're considering banning fighting. The only time our sport gets press is if someone gets tomahawked with a stick or knocked unconscious.

Hockey fans have always looked for reasons to hate Bettman, and these jerseys were just one more thing to hate him for. But I say we hate him for things like the shootout, the trapezoid, and a (possible) ban of fighting.