NHL 2011-2012: Possible Uniform Changes

[Cosmic]

I'll pass on blue ice.

Good thing the lock-out happened of the Sabres would played on this...

I'm pretty sure that was always intended to be a league-sponsored test... not something like the 49ers helmet that was official until people flipped out.

USAToday article

[Gothamite]

I think the logic behind a logo should stand on its own and not require too much explanation. And a tribute logo should pay tribute to the specific subject which in this case requires a leaf.

I'd call that a pretty solid argument why it needs to be in the roundel.

[The_Admiral]

It was only a test. I don't see why the blue lines have to be yellow, since the now-blue red line is perfectly clear. But yeah, I find that sort of ice blue to be easier on the eyes (especially in high definition, I'd imagine, where all that crystal-clear white ice gets fatiguing) and truer to what a frozen lake should look like. Nobody's saying powder blue ice here, but there's something to be said for a hint of color.

[Francis10]

I suppose they could have just lifted Norway's. It's got the right colours and a centre that could pass for the Avro Arrow. What a great tribute to the RCAF a blue circle with a delta winged jet would have been sans maple leaf.

You rotate that sucker 90° clockwise and stylize it a bit, and you've got a W in there as well. Pity.

[oddball]

I suppose they could have just lifted Norway's. It's got the right colours and a centre that could pass for the Avro Arrow. What a great tribute to the RCAF a blue circle with a delta winged jet would have been sans maple leaf.

You rotate that sucker 90° clockwise and stylize it a bit, and you've got a W in there as well. Pity.

*shakes head* Seriously people? If there's even a remote thought in anyone's brain that using another country's logo is a good idea, you really need to take a month off from the boards. The more you guys try to find something better than what Winnipeg came up with, the more you guys epically fail.

[IronChefShark]

Mexico's rounded isn't exactly round either

[Cosmic]

I suppose they could have just lifted Norway's. It's got the right colours and a centre that could pass for the Avro Arrow. What a great tribute to the RCAF a blue circle with a delta winged jet would have been sans maple leaf.

You rotate that sucker 90° clockwise and stylize it a bit, and you've got a W in there as well. Pity.

Rotate it 90° clockwise and you also have a jet crashing.

[Sport]

It was only a test. I don't see why the blue lines have to be yellow, since the now-blue red line is perfectly clear. But yeah, I find that sort of ice blue to be easier on the eyes (especially in high definition, I'd imagine, where all that crystal-clear white ice gets fatiguing) and truer to what a frozen lake should look like. Nobody's saying powder blue ice here, but there's something to be said for a hint of color.

I agree. If they could get the ice to be the same color as the ice at Lake Placid in 1980, but less "spotty", then that would be perfect.

[IceCap]

Yeah, pale blue would work.

That Sabres mockup seems to powder blue-ish though, and I'm not a fan of the blue red line and orange blue lines.

[Corvus]

I know it's a national symbol and all, but there's something amusing about New Zealand using a flightless bird for their airforce roundel.

[steve61]

I know it's a national symbol and all, but there's something amusing about New Zealand using a flightless bird for their airforce roundel.

Our national animal is a rodent. We have no room to criticize the kiwi.

edit: I missed your entire point about the bird being flightless and can't seem to figure out how to delete my post. please ignore. btw, how the hell do you delete a post?

[The_Admiral]

You don't delete posts. Live with your shame forever.

[SilverNRed]

The problem with dark sweaters at home is that if you have season tickets, or just attend a lot of games, every game looks exactly the same -- your team in their dark sweater against a white team.

I fail to see the "problem" in your sentence.

The problem is that every game looks exactly the same. I'd much rather have the home team wear white and play against a different colored team each night. Variety is the spice of life.

When I was a kid it was fun to think about each game looking different -- white v.s. blue, white v.s. black, white v.s. red, etc. -- when we bought tickets at the beginning of the season. That was probably the start of my interest in logos and uniforms.

Here's what I would do: Have teams wear white at home from the start of the season through New Years, then switch to dark jerseys at home from Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season. For the playoffs we can let home teams decide what they wear or go back to white at home or whatever.

That's a terrible idea. People are used to it now, but when the NHL first made the switch to darks at home it confused more then a few people. Your idea would make that confusion annual. Fans need to be able to associate with home and road games with one type of sweater, so they can know who the home team is the moment they tune in.

Alternate sweaters are not going away, and most of them are dark. Teams like to wear their alternates in front of their home crowd to increase sweater sales. So darks at home just makes the most sense. The road team doesn't have to worry about bringing two uniform sets on a road trip. They can just pack their whites.

Is it really that difficult to figure out who the home and road teams are when you tune in? The road team is listed above (or to the left) of the home team in the graphics. That's the first place I look. In the era of HDTV, you can also spot the home team's sweaters and colors in the crowd almost instantly.

I don't think a switch from home whites to home darks in the middle of the season would confuse anyone. If you're a hockey fan, you'd be aware of it. And if you're a casual fan, you're probably already confused based on how every sport does home/road uniforms differently anyway.

[IceCap]

In this day and age, with extensive cable coverage, you can see your team on the road against any opponent. The "darks at home are boring" argument is pointless now that you can see your team on television regardless of where they're playing.

As for switching darks and whites midway through the season, not only is it confusing but it's minor league. It's not something the NHL *should* be doing.

[oddball]

In this day and age, with extensive cable coverage, you can see your team on the road against any opponent. The "darks at home are boring" argument is pointless now that you can see your team on television regardless of where they're playing.

As for switching darks and whites midway through the season, not only is it confusing but it's minor league. It's not something the NHL *should* be doing.

They've done it before in the 75th Anniversary Season and it was cool for the home team to wear the dark jerseys back then because it was novel and hadn't been done in a white. The problem is that the home team wearing dark jerseys is no longer novel and I'd say 75% of the fans would prefer white jerseys at home, and I'm talking about the ones of us who actually attend the games. I'm sorry, but I'd prefer seeing the Rangers, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, and Canadians in their classic dark jerseys that made them who they are. Throw in that I'd prefer to see San Jose, Calgary, and Edmonton in their darks and I say the league, for those who attend the games would be much more pleasing. Probably the only team with a better white jersey, would be Detroit, but I'd sacrifice Detroit to see all the other team's in their dark uniforms.

[IceCap]

In this day and age, with extensive cable coverage, you can see your team on the road against any opponent. The "darks at home are boring" argument is pointless now that you can see your team on television regardless of where they're playing.

As for switching darks and whites midway through the season, not only is it confusing but it's minor league. It's not something the NHL *should* be doing.

They've done it before in the 75th Anniversary Season and it was cool for the home team to wear the dark jerseys back then because it was novel and hadn't been done in a white. The problem is that the home team wearing dark jerseys is no longer novel and I'd say 75% of the fans would prefer white jerseys at home, and I'm talking about the ones of us who actually attend the games. I'm sorry, but I'd prefer seeing the Rangers, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, and Canadians in their classic dark jerseys that made them who they are. Throw in that I'd prefer to see San Jose, Calgary, and Edmonton in their darks and I say the league, for those who attend the games would be much more pleasing. Probably the only team with a better white jersey, would be Detroit, but I'd sacrifice Detroit to see all the other team's in their dark uniforms.

The Maple Leafs, historically, have worn their whites as their "standard" sweater. Same with the Red Wings actually.

A soccer style primary/clash kit system could work in the NHL, but the burden to wear the clash kit would have to fall on the home team to maintain the ideal situation of teams only having to bring one uniform set with them for road games. So if Montreal and Chicago played in Montreal it would be the Habs that would wear their white clash sweaters.

[hockey week]

In this day and age, with extensive cable coverage, you can see your team on the road against any opponent. The "darks at home are boring" argument is pointless now that you can see your team on television regardless of where they're playing.

As for switching darks and whites midway through the season, not only is it confusing but it's minor league. It's not something the NHL *should* be doing.

They've done it before in the 75th Anniversary Season and it was cool for the home team to wear the dark jerseys back then because it was novel and hadn't been done in a white. The problem is that the home team wearing dark jerseys is no longer novel and I'd say 75% of the fans would prefer white jerseys at home, and I'm talking about the ones of us who actually attend the games. I'm sorry, but I'd prefer seeing the Rangers, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, and Canadians in their classic dark jerseys that made them who they are. Throw in that I'd prefer to see San Jose, Calgary, and Edmonton in their darks and I say the league, for those who attend the games would be much more pleasing. Probably the only team with a better white jersey, would be Detroit, but I'd sacrifice Detroit to see all the other team's in their dark uniforms.

I absolutely agree with this, but I think a lot of the problem is with equipment managers and third jerseys. Most third jerseys are dark, and teams want to wear them for the home fans, which means the away team needs to wear white. that requires a lot of teams to pack two sets of jerseys for a road trip, and having worked with equipment managers, i know that sucks.

There needs to be a movement for more white third jerseys, more color v color games, or a better organized system among teams and equipment managers to plan all-white road trips, where home teams would agree to wear their thirds and their darks to make the visiting team's trip easier. I think the last two aren't out of the question.

[Gothamite]

In this day and age, with extensive cable coverage, you can see your team on the road against any opponent. The "darks at home are boring" argument is pointless now that you can see your team on television regardless of where they're playing.

I agree - I don't find the "my team colors are boring" to be a very compelling argument.

[Has2916]

"There needs to be a movement for more white third jerseys, more color v color games, or a better organized system among teams and equipment managers to plan all-white road trips, where home teams would agree to wear their thirds and their darks to make the visiting team's trip easier. I think the last two aren't out of the question."

The Maple Leafs organized something like that on their 2010-11 western Canada road trip. They brought only their home blues on the trip and Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver wore their whites. (Vancouver actually wore their 40th anniversary jerseys)

[hockey week]

"There needs to be a movement for more white third jerseys, more color v color games, or a better organized system among teams and equipment managers to plan all-white road trips, where home teams would agree to wear their thirds and their darks to make the visiting team's trip easier. I think the last two aren't out of the question."

The Maple Leafs organized something like that on their 2010-11 western Canada road trip. They brought only their home blues on the trip and Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver wore their whites. (Vancouver actually wore their 40th anniversary jerseys)

It happens very rarely. I remember Detroit asked the Penguins if they could wear their darks in Pittsburgh for a game because of a later game in that road trip, but it's just SO rare. it needs to be a league-wide thing that happens with almost every team once a year or so.

The Leafs doing that is definitely encouraging though, I hope it becomes more common practice