Three NHL Seasons of the RBK Edge Uniform System

[BBTV]

agreed.

[CubsFanBudMan]

First off, apologies for the massive amount of Florida hockey jersey images to follow.

Here is another Jersey set that needs to be scrapped sooner then later. I was a huge fan of Florida's original identity and when they released these, it was a huge dissapointment.

I wish they could find a way to just edgify these beauties...

The Panthers are one of those rare teams that got their identity absolutely perfect the first time and all subsequent attempts at expanding or improving upon it have been a failure. Starting with the Navy Alt released in 1999 (basically a copy of their orginal jerseys) and bottoming out with their current powder blue and navy thirds.

As a Panthers fan, I absolutely agree. I never liked the Panthers' navy jerseys, but I see how they (pre-Edge and Edge) work well with the white to give consistent striping and placement of red to the set. IN fact, the Edge actually brought more red to the table on the navy and white, even while losing the red jersey completely. Still, I'd rather they modified the red to lose some of the white if they wanted a "mirror"-image jersey.

Now, as far as the Edge, yes, I hated them when they debuted. Moving the stripes to the sleeves and adding the "apron strings" -- is that what we're calling them? -- was a huge downgrade to me. However, after seeing the new third this year, I'll take the current Panthers Edge -- navy, apron strings and all -- and cling to it dearly just to have some piece of their classic (IMO) original look remain. But that third should have been red, and I can only hope Dale Tallon can bring that bit of marketing from the Blackhawks, even if there are more red teams than navy in the NHL already. The addition of light blue further clouds the Thrashers and Panthers identities.

Might as well keep this thread going, whats the concensus on Tampa's Uniforms? Anybody like their Edge redesign or are people partial to their orginal jerseys? Or should they start over? I think the new logo would look good on the old uniform if it was tweaked a bit (add some more blue, and use less White). I was also wondering what people on this boards opinions are when it comes to jerseys that have seen Championships won in them (Tampa won the Cup in 2004 in the jersey below). Should teams be forced to stick with championship looks?

No, I don't think you have to stick with championship looks, but I'd think it would be a good idea just to modernize them, as the Lightning did with their logo. Since they debuted, I always thought they needed to lose the words from their crest, and at least they did it halfway with the Edge version. (I think Tampa Bay has to stay to avoid a DC Comics The Flash-inspired lawsuit, again just IMO.) If you look at the two unis, those original wordmarks are illegible. The new typeface, while not great, is at least legible.

[charger77]

I would be fine with Tampa keeping all current logos. I'd just like to see a different template.

[Sabrejeff]

In my opinion the Ducks have the worst number/NOB font in all 4 sports. Their swooshy stripes get cut off on the edge template and their colors are not representative of orange county, southern California, or a duck. I'd rather see the Penguins in the Ducks uniforms than the Ducks. If they had to switch then I would've preferred it if they went with one of those green-orange concepts that were around here in abundance in 2006. I am not at all a fan of their current uniforms and even though they won a cup in them I still have a hard time identifying the Ducks with black,gold, and orange.

Personally, I thought there was nothing wrong with their original uniforms. Given enough time then they could've become modern classics. They were unique in design, name, and colors. I think being named after a kids' movie is better than hollow nicknames such as 'Wild', 'Lightning', or 'Thrashers'.

The Thrashers are named after the Brown Thrasher. Kinda the state bird of GA, not exactly a "hollow" nickname.

Neither is the Lightning...

IMO, Tampa's uniforms have always looked incredibly unprofessional and bush league. I guess it all starts with their name, the "Lightning", which leads to mostly bush league logo concepts, and just doesn't sound professional. The black and blue (as stated before) make the uniform just too dark, and don't have nearly enough contrast. The old logo, with the paintbrush font looked like it just had all of it's pieces patched together, and the new one isn't much better (actually, I think the italicized font looks even more minor league.)

I actually liked their first number style, even though I found it to clash with the rest of the league. I wouldn't want to see it return, but for some silly reason, I still like it. The paint brush set was a complete joke.

I vote that they start over, maybe go with a navy (or dark royal) and gold scheme, or Orlando Thunder green (yes, I just said that). Make a simple logo with just the bolt and a circle, and maybe a TB. Or, if they can't think of anything new, go with the state-bolt alt logo just recolored. They could also go a more traditional route and do the wordmark thing - in cases like theirs, I wouldn't be opposed to that. JUST KEEP THE WORD "BOLTS" OFF OF THE SWEATERS. That's embarassing.

If they must keep the name "lightning", then I'll concede that the pants are pretty cool.

... after all, Central Florida IS the thunderstorm capital of the world.

[BBTV]

In my opinion the Ducks have the worst number/NOB font in all 4 sports. Their swooshy stripes get cut off on the edge template and their colors are not representative of orange county, southern California, or a duck. I'd rather see the Penguins in the Ducks uniforms than the Ducks. If they had to switch then I would've preferred it if they went with one of those green-orange concepts that were around here in abundance in 2006. I am not at all a fan of their current uniforms and even though they won a cup in them I still have a hard time identifying the Ducks with black,gold, and orange.

Personally, I thought there was nothing wrong with their original uniforms. Given enough time then they could've become modern classics. They were unique in design, name, and colors. I think being named after a kids' movie is better than hollow nicknames such as 'Wild', 'Lightning', or 'Thrashers'.

The Thrashers are named after the Brown Thrasher. Kinda the state bird of GA, not exactly a "hollow" nickname.

Neither is the Lightning...

IMO, Tampa's uniforms have always looked incredibly unprofessional and bush league. I guess it all starts with their name, the "Lightning", which leads to mostly bush league logo concepts, and just doesn't sound professional. The black and blue (as stated before) make the uniform just too dark, and don't have nearly enough contrast. The old logo, with the paintbrush font looked like it just had all of it's pieces patched together, and the new one isn't much better (actually, I think the italicized font looks even more minor league.)

I actually liked their first number style, even though I found it to clash with the rest of the league. I wouldn't want to see it return, but for some silly reason, I still like it. The paint brush set was a complete joke.

I vote that they start over, maybe go with a navy (or dark royal) and gold scheme, or Orlando Thunder green (yes, I just said that). Make a simple logo with just the bolt and a circle, and maybe a TB. Or, if they can't think of anything new, go with the state-bolt alt logo just recolored. They could also go a more traditional route and do the wordmark thing - in cases like theirs, I wouldn't be opposed to that. JUST KEEP THE WORD "BOLTS" OFF OF THE SWEATERS. That's embarassing.

If they must keep the name "lightning", then I'll concede that the pants are pretty cool.

... after all, Central Florida IS the thunderstorm capital of the world.

Which means next to nothing when it comes to judging whether or not it's a good name for a sports team.

Austin has been referred to numerous times as the "allergy capital of the world". If they got a team, would "Austin Allergy" be a good name? Indiana PA (shout out to IUP!) has signs all over it marketing it as the "Christmas tree capital of the world". Would Indiana Fighting Christmas Trees make for a good name? Just because there's some kind of local tie in doesn't mean that it automatically works for a tip-tier professional sports nickname.

[JQK]

Lightning is a good name though. Christmas Trees and Allergy are not. I understand your point, but in this case, in my opinion, it is not valid.

The Devils are named after a fictional demon that lives in Flyers territory. The Blues are named after a type of music (or movie, either one). When San Jose first revealed their name i remember people feeling like it was a high school mascot, not worthy of a "top tier" league.

I feel there are much worse professional sports team names out there other than Lightning.

[BBTV]

Lightning is a good name though. Christmas Trees and Allergy are not. I understand your point, but in this case, in my opinion, it is not valid.

The Devils are named after a fictional demon that lives in Flyers territory. The Blues are named after a type of music (or movie, either one). When San Jose first revealed their name i remember people feeling like it was a high school mascot, not worthy of a "top tier" league.

I feel there are much worse professional sports team names out there other than Lightning.

There's a couple - Wild instantly comes to mind.

Part of it has to do with my hatred for nicknames that don't end with s. I do have a little bit of traditionalist in me I guess. I think if they took the name off of their ridiculous alt jersey and just officially called themselves the "Bolts", even that would be bad, but I prefer it to Lightning.

[Morgan33]

Whether "Lightning" is a bad name or not, I think 18 seasons and one Championship dictates that it remain the same. Since weve more of less covered the designs of the initial batch, lets move on to the thirds. Here are four monstrosities to mull over...

[Canadian_Idiot]

^the ONLY thing i liked about the Thrashers third was it's fairly unique neckline.

It's sort of a mix between the "sporty" neckline and the "V-insert" neckline.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Whether "Lightning" is a bad name or not, I think 18 seasons and one Championship dictates that it remain the same. Since weve more of less covered the designs of the initial batch, lets move on to the thirds. Here are four monstrosities to mull over...

I agree with three out of four. I actually prefer the Coyotes third for them. The classic look just went too far back for me, and I've never liked the howling head. (Full disclosure: I was a big fan of the original logo.) But I really like this full-body coyote, and I like the use of only black, maroon and sand on these.

(Side note: I see the Sens and Bolts thirds were both possible inspirations for Michigan State's new internal serif look. Ugh.)

[Morgan33]

Whether "Lightning" is a bad name or not, I think 18 seasons and one Championship dictates that it remain the same. Since weve more of less covered the designs of the initial batch, lets move on to the thirds. Here are four monstrosities to mull over...

I agree with three out of four. I actually prefer the Coyotes third for them. The classic look just went too far back for me, and I've never liked the howling head. (Full disclosure: I was a big fan of the original logo.) But I really like this full-body coyote, and I like the use of only black, maroon and sand on these.

The Coyotes original logo was awesome, check my sig! I do agree with you about the logo and colours of the new third. The full bodied Coyote looks far better than the Howling head and the colour scheme can almost be seen as a tribute to the franchise's original uniforms (which I think were spectacular). The thing that really bothers me about it however is the striping. This is hockey not basketball and im not sure what those blobs of Brick on the Sleeves are supposed to signify... And pick one shoulder patch.

[hrivnak]

For the record, the Thrashers are not only named for the state bird, but the area of town where Philips Arena sits was once actually known as "Thrasherville."

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/gahistmarkers/thrashervillehistmarker.htm

So, no, it's not hollow.

[GMW79]

I have no problem with the name Thrashers. Being named after the state bird, especially one with an aggressive-sounding name is appropriate. Wearing a third jersey that's clearly designed to look like a football jersey is completely unacceptable for a hockey team--especially an NHL one. On that principle, these are, IMO, by far the absolute worst jerseys in the NHL followed closely by Atlanta's mismatched sleeve home jerseys. The Ottawa and Tampa Bay thirds are right up there too. Actually printing a team's nickname on the front of a jersey is laughable.

[CreamSoda]

The Tampa third is easily their best sweater in the Edge era.

[SilverNRed]

The Tampa third is easily their best sweater in the Edge era.

I vote for the Washington Capitals.

(And I think the Edge era has been a debacle of epic proportions.)

[IceCap]

The Tampa third is easily their best sweater in the Edge era.

I vote for the Washington Capitals.

(And I think the Edge era has been a debacle of epic proportions.)

He said "their," indicting the TB third as the best Lightning Edge sweater. Which I would agree with, but the bar's very, very low.

As for the best new Edge design, I'm going to go with the Boston Bruins. Yes, even their black alts that only I seem to like.

Edge, from a design standpoint, I think has been a debacle. To many teams use either generic templates or have horrible designs (or both). As for the sweaters themselves, however, I can't say. I've never played in one, so I don't know how they would feel on-the-ice (though I always tended to like baggier sweaters, being a goalie and all, so I can't say my first impressions are that positive).

[The_Admiral]

I wonder how far along in the process they got before someone asked "so where does the sweat go, then?" regarding the moisture-wicking fabric. My guess is pretty early on, but then they went ahead anyway.

[IceCap]

I remember it being an issue when the Edge sweaters were first used during the 2007 All-Star Game. I attribute the mistake to Reebok still not grasping the fact that what works in soccer won't necessarily work in hockey.

[FlyersHockey1967]

Not to mention that a good number of the jerseys in the league now are using pre-Edge material, and not the special sweat-resistant fabrics that made it "impossible" to have traditional designs with hem stripes. So there's really no reason to have those bland template designs anymore.

[friarcanuck]

Bias aside, I like Ottawa's third. I don't like the shortened wordmark, but love the jersey.

Only way to fix it would be to put 'Senators' across in the same font and maybe take off the stripes on the outer arms. However, the way I describe it sounds odd when pictured in my head.