What if the Maroons Never Folded?

[hockey week]

What if the Montreal Maroons never folded? Both Montreal franchises were owned by the same people, and as the depression wore on, they had to make a decision as to which team to keep. What if they found a partner to finance the team? This is a history of one of the NHL's Original Seven franchises.

First, I lift directly from nhluniforms.com, so that the entire history is present and you can see my thought process. These are not my images, but those of The Hockey Uniform Database:

1924-25

1925-29

1929-31

1931-35

1935-38

Now here is where the real Maroons folded. Imagine if the team kept going. The following are my own images.

1938-41

The Maroons follow the rest of the league and switch from the old leather-colored pants. They adopt black, considering it to be neutral and fitting

1941-45

Following the lead of the Detroit Red Wings, the team of Quebec's English-Canadians adopts the poppy flower of Flanders' Fields and the Union Jack, which was featured prominently on all Canadian WWII posters. Supporting the War Effort of the Crown became a major selling point.

1945-48

As with all of the Original Seven teams, jersey tweaks happened often as new sets were bought. The Maroons would lose their white cuffs, as well as the serifs on the logo, when they lost their wartime patches

To be Continued...

[hockey week]

Continued:

1948-49

With the Rangers dropping their front-numbered design, and the assurance that it would not be coming back, the Maroons ownership jumped on the idea. It would also be the first integration of black in the sweaters, though it did not turn out quite how the ownership wanted.

1949-53

The black would be better integrated in between the northwestern stripes on the sleeves.

1953-58

The last team to do so, the Maroons were forced to create a road white sweater. Though they had lasted so long with their unique color, television made a differentiation necessary. They would simply swap maroon for white in all cases.

1958-61

The Maroons get into a more classic groove, reaching into the past similar to what the Bruins were doing. The logos return, lace-ups are added, and the stripes on the white sweater change.

1961-72

White shoulders outlined by black, a unique trait to the NHL and beneficial for television, were added to the maroon sweaters.

To be Continued...

[hockey week]

1972-74

The Maroons obviously conform to the white-at-home and name-on-back rules

1974-82

The Maroons go wild, similar to the Leafs and Rangers at the time, adopting shoulder stripes, but kept unique ideas with stripes-on-shoulder-stripes, and try out maroon pants.

1982-91

Following the weight of the 1980s, more black is integrated into the uniform, the pants go back to normal, and the whole thing is toned down just a little bit...just a little.

1991-92

The NHL's 75th Anniversary celebration inspires the Maroons to go back to the classics, along with new classic sweaters, a throwback to 1929 is used for games against the Original Seven teams, just as those teams did.

1992-95

The team keeps its classic look, but drops the alternate like the rest of the Original Seven

1995-96

The third jersey rocks the NHL, and the Maroons wouldn't be left out. They introduce a black jersey with multiple fades, diagonal lines, and a skewed logo. It was panned by the fans, and hated by the players. They quietly drop it after the season.

1996-2002

The team drops the third jersey and keeps the classic look

2002-07

Black-for-black's-sake is sweeping the league, and the Maroons give it a shot. A snazzy jersey, though not always appropriate for a team named "the Maroons", it sells well, and they use it until the Edge switchover. Also, lace-up collars are back in vogue, and the Maroons bring it back.

2007-10

The RBK Edge switchover takes the league, and the Maroons are rather apt to listen, just like the Leafs. They lose the hemline stripes, and add front numbers along the hem, as seen in past All-Star Games

2010-

The Maroons are noticing the league-wide cry for heritage, and are bringing back their usual look in the Edge format.

So there you have it, my historical look at the Montreal Maroons in an alternate history. I tried to follow what the Original Six teams did, because they followed a slightly different drummer than the rest of the fast-changing league. I used the NHL Uniforms template to keep it looking consistent and add a bit more believability to it. C&C?

[GeorgesL]

It's great, but on the maroon jerseys I can do without the white shoulder yokes. The white jerseys are fine.

The addition of black? Not a big fan of the black.

Otherwise, a very interesting journey. I wish Montreal still had 2 hockey teams. (And Quebec City kept theirs.) The 3-way Quebec provincial rivalry would be so epic.

[Discrim]

very interesting idea you got here...I was actually thinking about embarking on a similar project, though I have no idea who I'd do it for right now.

[Generic]

1958-61 is my most favorite era, I really find it a pleasure to the eyes. Great work over all, mostly a beliveable timeline. One error, 2007-2010 is lacking a nameplate on the away, it's part of the uniform rules that all jerseys a team wears must have nameplates and numbers.

[IceCap]

Just so you know, I would have to track down a maroon 1982-91 throwback. Very nice job.

[hockey week]

1958-61 is my most favorite era, I really find it a pleasure to the eyes. Great work over all, mostly a beliveable timeline. One error, 2007-2010 is lacking a nameplate on the away, it's part of the uniform rules that all jerseys a team wears must have nameplates and numbers.

Good catch, it must've gotten deleted somewhere along the line. Fixed.

Thanks guys, I was thinking of the Americans next, but I don't know just how different it would be from a timeline like this, with how stoic the Original Six teams are. Perhaps I'll mess with the Oakland Seals, they were changing unis constantly. Thoughts or suggestions?

[Generic]

The Americans would be the best one to do next. I see some really great possibilities out of that choice. Other cool choices are the Hamilton Tigers and the Montreal Wanderers.

[aci]

Possibly the Quebec Bulldogs, or maybe if the Pittsburgh Pirates, the original Ottawa Senators or the St Louis Eagles had never folded?

[illwauk]

I love these "what if" scenarios with defunct teams. I think they would've gone with maroon pants in 1938, although I could see them trying to force black onto the uniform in the 90s and 00s. But aside from that, everything you've done here seems very believable.

[GMW79]

Lots of fun, hockey week! I'd like to second aci's request for a Senators set--kinda bridge the gap.

[aci]

Lots of fun, hockey week! I'd like to second aci's request for a Senators set--kinda bridge the gap.

That one's definitely my first choice.

[Bmac]

Wow, I really love this idea. I love how you connected these to the different eras. I can't wait to see more teams!

[Generic]

Ouu, another thing I caught was in the 2002-2007 era. The CCM logos at the bottom are supposed to be under the neck, and im pretty sure Koho did the dark jerseys that year.

[charger77]

Thats a clever 3rd jersey on the 95/96 set.

[north dakota]

I like the 1995-96 alternate.

[hockey week]

Alright, so it seems that the Senators have the most interest. I'd say that first off, don't expect it to lead directly into the current franchise. Though they have tried to mate the two (retired numbers, the original shoulder patch's founded date, media coverage), there's nothing that would dictate that a franchise would go towards those logos. It would be like imagining that the Quakers became the Flyers, or the North Stars became the Wild. I can't imagine a 75 year old team radically changing logos. Maybe a little (see: Maple Leafs) but not much.

I guess the big question that I'm going to leave up for debate while I contemplate this, is "Would the Senators lose their full-barber-pole stripes? If so, when?"

I REALLY hope some people chime in with answers to that question.

[Shane Does Art]

I think they would significantly drop the amount of stripes pretty early I would think.

I was planning on doing a series like this for the Senators as well. Looking forward to your interpretations.

[aci]

They probably would lose most of the stripes around the time teams stopped wearing actually wool sweaters.