NHL 2011-2012: Possible Uniform Changes

[Legend]

My take on the new uniforms of Florida & Tampa Bay...

So who's designs did you steal this time?

The concepts are nice, whoever made them. But those uniforms are boring and way too simple. I'm all for a more conservative look when it comes to sports jerseys in general, but if they do go that route it's cheap and lazy. Not to mention if Tampa Bay goes with an old-school design to their collar it'll only worsen their look... they were established in 1992, not 1902.

That's the problem. They think going with an old-school design that is boring and simple is the right move. Stevie Y thinks these are the Red Wings. So we are getting plain Leaf-like jerseys for a team that's been around since the 90's.

Great.

[Puck]

My take on the new uniforms of Florida & Tampa Bay...

So who's designs did you steal this time?

The concepts are nice, whoever made them. But those uniforms are boring and way too simple. I'm all for a more conservative look when it comes to sports jerseys in general, but if they do go that route it's cheap and lazy. Not to mention if Tampa Bay goes with an old-school design to their collar it'll only worsen their look... they were established in 1992, not 1902.

That's the problem. They think going with an old-school design that is boring and simple is the right move. Stevie Y thinks these are the Red Wings. So we are getting plain Leaf-like jerseys for a team that's been around since the 90's.

Great.

Honestly surprised he's not just taking the Red Wings uniform, switching red for blue, and then taking the lightning bolt and angle it in the same manner as the Red Wings logo.

[Gothamite]

Anyone know if the Coyotes will be switching their name to the Arizona Coyotes next year? I doubt it would mean any more change to their uniforms than replacing Phoenix with Arizona on the shoulder patches.

They won't do that until contractually required to. Which may or may not happen, depending on how bat loony the Glendale City Council truly is.

[BigShoop]

I guess I never got around to my dissertation on my opposition to the Hashmarks of Success.

Armpits are stinky, wet, and kind of weird. There's unsightly hair all over them, and sometimes they make farty noises if you put your hand in there. All the same can be said of a certain other body part, but nobody's ever heard of chasing armpit. They're not a part of the body to which you ever really want to draw any particular attention, especially in something as exerting as professional athletic competition, where armpits are at their worst. As such, no design for apparel athletic nor civilian should have elements which direct your eyes to fabric on the armpit. I have equal or greater disdain for CoolBase's armpit vents, and the Buffalo Sabres' sweater with big piped and miscolored armpit patches. I am nothing if not consistent.

In the particular case of the Lightning, the Winner Slashes are a silly contrivance born of applying an element of Original Six simplicity to a concept of Sun Belt lameness. "When we score a goal or win a game, we're really gonna rub it in by showing everyone our...small and subtle stripes!" If you were going to do something as lame as coming up with a secret feature of arms raised in competitive ecstasy, you should have realized that you were a 1992 expansion team playing at a fairgrounds and might as well have had dragons spitting lightning bolts, or pictures of Zeus hurling lightning bolts, or something stupid and gaudy enough to fit the idea of Tampa Bay expansion hockey reveling in its successes. To be serious, though, even a "V" for victory would've been a better application of the stupid "victory stripes" concept than a handful of teensy little lines that look like mismatched reinforcement stitching or something equally unintentional. Part of the fetishization of the stripes seems to be that they were Esposito's bad idea, and having him as a minority owner early on is one of the only executive aspects of the organization that Lightning fans can be proud of, having been owned by several groups who, in grand NHL tradition, didn't actually have any money. (Thank goodness for BIll Davidson.) But celebrating Esposito as one of your own in the first place is kind of offensive, seeing as he built his legacy as a hockey player in hockey towns, not as a figurehead investor. You needn't honor his contributions by forever maintaining the victory stripes. The victory stripes were stupid, and Lightning hockey from 1992-2003 and 2007-2010 was stupid. There's no history to honor here.

Well, at least you had good punctuation and you used some really descriptive adjectives!............

The Phil Esposito thing is what got me. You obviously have no idea what the Tampa Bay area, and franchise, mean to him. We wouldn't celebrate him if he was just some "figurehead investor". TRUST ME when I say, Tampa Bay sports fans know what one of those looks like.

Now, back to the actual topic...

[Geoff]

In the particular case of the Lightning, the Winner Slashes are a silly contrivance born of applying an element of Original Six simplicity to a concept of Sun Belt lameness. "When we score a goal or win a game, we're really gonna rub it in by showing everyone our...small and subtle stripes!" If you were going to do something as lame as coming up with a secret feature of arms raised in competitive ecstasy, you should have realized that you were a 1992 expansion team playing at a fairgrounds and might as well have had dragons spitting lightning bolts, or pictures of Zeus hurling lightning bolts, or something stupid and gaudy enough to fit the idea of Tampa Bay expansion hockey reveling in its successes. To be serious, though, even a "V" for victory would've been a better application of the stupid "victory stripes" concept than a handful of teensy little lines that look like mismatched reinforcement stitching or something equally unintentional. Part of the fetishization of the stripes seems to be that they were Esposito's bad idea, and having him as a minority owner early on is one of the only executive aspects of the organization that Lightning fans can be proud of, having been owned by several groups who, in grand NHL tradition, didn't actually have any money. (Thank goodness for BIll Davidson.) But celebrating Esposito as one of your own in the first place is kind of offensive, seeing as he built his legacy as a hockey player in hockey towns, not as a figurehead investor. You needn't honor his contributions by forever maintaining the victory stripes. The victory stripes were stupid, and Lightning hockey from 1992-2003 and 2007-2010 was stupid. There's no history to honor here.

Ummmmmmm, Espo WANTS to be involved with the team and really had it ripped out from under him in the first place. The Lightning claim Espo as one of their own because Espo claims the Lightning as one of his favorite accomplishments. He loves this team and area and wants to be involved with the team.

[Morgan33]

Armpits are stinky, wet, and kind of weird. There's unsightly hair all over them, and sometimes they make farty noises if you put your hand in there. All the same can be said of a certain other body part, but nobody's ever heard of chasing armpit. They're not a part of the body to which you ever really want to draw any particular attention, especially in something as exerting as professional athletic competition, where armpits are at their worst.

Very clever analogy there, what does it have to do with the uniforms? Seeing how the players airmpits are concealed under padding and the jersey I dont see how its relevant. The victory stripes are so subtile they don't draw attention to them at all. The only time you ever see them is in situations where one of their arms are raised like when a goal is scored. The only time you see both of them is when a player is lifting the cup. Its funny, I never heard so much as a mention of this design element before the Lightning' cup victory in 2004. I would say they did their job.

As such, no design for apparel athletic nor civilian should have elements which direct your eyes to fabric on the armpit. I have equal or greater disdain for CoolBase's armpit vents, and the Buffalo Sabres' sweater with big piped and miscolored armpit patches. I am nothing if not consistent.

Tampa's victory stripes serve a purpose where as the sabres pit stains do not. They are just there because Reebok doesn't have a clue when it comes to designing hockey jerseys so no real comparision here.

In the particular case of the Lightning, the Winner Slashes are a silly contrivance born of applying an element of Original Six simplicity to a concept of Sun Belt lameness.

Was the striping of Tampa Bay's inaugural jerseys not simplified and based off original six jerseys to begin with? If the victory stripes were a contrivance of an original six team, they would be a perfect fit on those jerseys. They aren't because no other team in NHL history used them. Its rare when a team comes up with a design aspect that is completely original and gets embraced by people who have a passion for sports logos and apparell. Look at the backlash the Sabre's front numbers generated.

"When we score a goal or win a game, we're really gonna rub it in by showing everyone our...small and subtle stripes!"

As someone who followed and cheered for Flames from the start of their second round series (Im a Canucks fan so was cheering against them in the first round) to their heartbreaking game 7 loss, I can say without a doubt the idea those stripes were put there to rub victories in their oponents faces is beyond ridiculous. I watched the Bolts lift the cup and saw the victory stripes prominently displayed. Not once did they make me more angry or bitter about the loss.

If you were going to do something as lame as coming up with a secret feature of arms raised in competitive ecstasy, you should have realized that you were a 1992 expansion team playing at a fairgrounds and might as well have had dragons spitting lightning bolts, or pictures of Zeus hurling lightning bolts, or something stupid and gaudy enough to fit the idea of Tampa Bay expansion hockey reveling in its successes.

So because of your overwhelming bias and disdain for Tampa Bay having a team they should have hideous, guady jerseys with depictions of Dragons and Zeus? Whether you like the idea of hockey in Tampa Bay or not you should at least respect that they went for a simple, understated design.

To be serious, though, even a "V" for victory would've been a better application of the stupid "victory stripes"

No, that would look ridiculous. One just has to look to the 1978 Canucks for an example of that.

Part of the fetishization of the stripes seems to be that they were Esposito's bad idea, and having him as a minority owner early on is one of the only executive aspects of the organization that Lightning fans can be proud of, having been owned by several groups who, in grand NHL tradition, didn't actually have any money. (Thank goodness for BIll Davidson.) But celebrating Esposito as one of your own in the first place is kind of offensive, seeing as he built his legacy as a hockey player in hockey towns, not as a figurehead investor. You needn't honor his contributions by forever maintaining the victory stripes.

The assertion that Esposito was just some "figuirehead investor" is offensive. Trivializing his passion for the team and the city is borderline ignorance.

The victory stripes were stupid, and Lightning hockey from 1992-2003 and 2007-2010 was stupid. There's no history to honor here.

Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, A Stanley Cup victory and a Conn Smythe Winner in Brad Richards. Thats alot more history then alot of expansion teams could ask for.

[The Giant Pacific Octopus]

Zeus?

Personally I think a Zeus logo would rock. That would be much better than a bland generic lightning bolt.

[Puck]

Zeus?

Personally I think a Zeus logo would rock. That would be much better than a bland generic lightning bolt.

Only if the intermissions include a Kraken.

[BrySmalls]

It seems that "Blueland" is quite empty tonight during the Caps - Thrashers game.

[habsfan1]

It seems that "Blueland" is quite empty tonight during the Caps - Thrashers game.

If the Habs were visiting, the Thrashers would look like the road team at the Bell Center.

[WSU151]

It seems that "Blueland" is quite empty tonight during the Caps - Thrashers game.

If the Habs were visiting, the Thrashers would look like the road team at the Bell Center.

I think you mean Philips Arena. The Thrashers WOULD be the road team at the Bell Center. And are there that many Canadiens fans in Georgia?

[Milo Meningocele]

Kind of a lot of talk about attendance and such, for a uniform change thread, no?

[habsfan1]

It seems that "Blueland" is quite empty tonight during the Caps - Thrashers game.

If the Habs were visiting, the Thrashers would look like the road team at the Bell Center.

I think you mean Philips Arena. The Thrashers WOULD be the road team at the Bell Center. And are there that many Canadiens fans in Georgia?

No just alot of people from Quebec who like to travel to other arenas to see the Habs play.

[charger77]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_azeOpbeao&feature=related

[Lee.]

This still has nothing to do with uniform changes.

Get back on topic fast, gents.

[TheRevTy]

Nice catch on the mini tab icon for the Lightning. Do I spy a darker blue drop shadow?

[Sport]

I'm partial to literal interpretations, when a team nickname allows it. I'd have loved for them to try either storm gray/white or black/white. You'd think there are a lot of creative things they could've done with lightning bolts, too.

I agree. Their name is the "Lightning". They could be the San Diego Chargers of hockey. Instead of using Pittsburgh and Ottawa's boring template they should incorporate their nickname with stripes that incorporate the lightning bolt. Of course they'd have to be careful about going overboard, but I think they could do it tastefully and it woud look really good.

[Mings]

I knew they would leak it.

[Lee.]

I don't even have fast access to that thing.

[nash61]

I knew they would leak it.

YES! This is even better than I ever thought they could do! Stevie Y is the greatest thing ever to happen to the Lightning franchise. I just hope this uniform set lasts until next time they win the Cup. I will be the first one to order when they go on pre-sale.