NHL 2011-2012: Possible Uniform Changes

[Lee.]

I posted this in the other thread, but why don't they combine one romanticized Canadian fetish (Winnipeg hockey) with another? (The Avro Arrow)

I give you, the Manitoba Arrows. (Bonus points for the nod to the Jets)

That is actually a fantastic idea, though I think the meaning might be lost on a lot of American fans. Hell, I'm sure a lot of Canadians wouldn't even get the reference.

Also, and maybe I'm just being stupid here, but am I the only one who thinks naming the team after Manitoba might lead to a lot of people confusing, intentionally or not, Manitoba with Minnesota?

I know I can't tell one from the other without simply reading the two names.

[Morgan33]

You're right on a lot of counts. The Jets never had good uniforms. The Rangers' hand-me-downs were boring, and the following set was even more boring. The Jets Winnipeg logo looks really dated (in a bad way, not the cool way that QMJHL stuff looks dated), the '90s version of it was uninspiring, and they didn't really distinguish themselves with a unique color scheme. Now, all that being said, it would be a capital case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater if True North abandoned the Winnipeg Jets brand and all the goodwill it amassed in its 15-year exile just because the Jets never came up with a cool sweater design. The name still means a lot to a lot of people, and it's a nice-sounding name. Snappy cadence. So salvage the name, come up with a neat spin on red/white/blue (I suggest sky blue and cobalt along with standard red, maybe go for a white-at-home exemption), and modernize the general idea of spelling out "Winnipeg Jets" with a hockey stick and an airplane. I don't think anyone suggested they take to the ice as if 1996-2011 never happened, because that would be stupid. Had they stayed where they belonged, they probably would've revamped in 2000 anyway.

They would have revamped in 1996/97 going with cartoon of a pilot in a jet on a jersey with teal accents, and wavy jetstream striping before reverting back to their original logo and jerseys by the mid 2000's.

[GO2HELL]

I wonder what kind of drugs those designers took while designing the crazy jerseys of the mid-late 90's

[ksupilot]

The thing that isn't adding up for me, the main argument for not going with the Jets name is to cash in on new merchandise sales. However, if they just go with the existing Moose logo and jersey, who is going to buy Moose gear? Fans in the Winnipeg area already have this stuff, and those outside of Winnipeg will be less interested, as there is no nostalgia associated with the Manitoba Moose.

I'm a Devils fan, and if the Jets come back, I am buying a Winnipeg Jets jersey. If they are the Moose...sorry not interested.

I just hope whoever is calling the shots (if the Coyotes move) is paying attention to the backlash to these articles. I don't think I have heard a single person who has supported this idea. Most think it isn't a good idea it seems.

[The_Admiral]

The more I think about it, "Manitoba Moose" sounds like a team from a comedy about hockey that isn't as good as Slap Shot. Almost a gross parody of hockey. Moose, you see, because they're Canadian, you see.

[hockey week]

The more I think about it, "Manitoba Moose" sounds like a team from a comedy about hockey that isn't as good as Slap Shot. Almost a gross parody of hockey. Moose, you see, because they're Canadian, you see.

Kind of like the Ontario Beavers from Canadian Bacon. ...that reminds me, I have to hit up the "fictional teams" thread lol. I agree, as cool as it would be to have that name in there (Moose are pretty awesome...though if it were a US team, I could see a Teddy Roosevelt alternate logo at some point...not so much in Canada) it almost seems like a self-parody.

[Lee.]

Teddy Roosevelt alternate logo

Money, please.

[gosioux76]

The thing that isn't adding up for me, the main argument for not going with the Jets name is to cash in on new merchandise sales. However, if they just go with the existing Moose logo and jersey, who is going to buy Moose gear? Fans in the Winnipeg area already have this stuff, and those outside of Winnipeg will be less interested, as there is no nostalgia associated with the Manitoba Moose.

I'm a Devils fan, and if the Jets come back, I am buying a Winnipeg Jets jersey. If they are the Moose...sorry not interested.

I just hope whoever is calling the shots (if the Coyotes move) is paying attention to the backlash to these articles. I don't think I have heard a single person who has supported this idea. Most think it isn't a good idea it seems.

This is exactly what I'm thinking. I was a freshman at the University of North Dakota when the Jets relocated to Phoenix, and I've always regretting missing out on a chance to take that short road trip north to a Jets game. So there's a nostalgia thing at play here.

So at the outset, I would feel more of a personal connection to a re-relocated Jets franchise than I would even to the Minnesota Wild, who didn't play their first game in my home state until after I'd left. (This wouldn't be the case if the NHL had returned to Minnesota as the North Stars.)

Yet the thought of being a Manitoba Moose fan isn't even remotely appealing.

It seems ridiculous that it should matter. But I'm more attracted to the allure of the Jets and its WHL lineage than I am to the idea of hockey returning to Winnipeg.

[The_Admiral]

"Manitoba" doesn't really mean anything to anybody, does it? It's just a big rectanglesque swath. Practically the whole damn province lives in Winnipeg.

I've never thought of the Weakerthans as being Manitoban, for example. The song doesn't go "I hate Manitoba."

[Brian in Boston]

The thing that isn't adding up for me, the main argument for not going with the Jets name is to cash in on new merchandise sales. However, if they just go with the existing Moose logo and jersey, who is going to buy Moose gear? Fans in the Winnipeg area already have this stuff, and those outside of Winnipeg will be less interested...

While ownership would likely maintain the current Moose logo, it would undoubtedly be affixed to a new uniform design. Management would position the new uniform template as commemorating the return of the NHL to Winnipeg. Frankly, said new uniform would likely drive significant merchandise sales amongst the team's core fans, as very few of them are going to want to welcome the NHL Moose to major-pro hockey competition while sporting the jersey of the minor-pro AHL incarnation of the team.

... there is no nostalgia associated with the Manitoba Moose.

No, but there is a tremendous amount of nostalgia - both in Manitoba and elsewhere - for the old WHA/NHL Winnipeg Jets. Therefore, the owners of the Manitoba Moose - along with the merchandising department at NHL headquarters - would undoubtedly market an extensive line of Jets "throwback" items. Voila! The best of both worlds with regard to merchandising: Significant sales of both newly-minted NHL Manitoba Moose gear, as well as Winnipeg Jets throwback gear.

Bottom line? True North spent significant time, money and effort freshening and strengthening the Manitoba Moose brand. If it is abandoned in order to resurrect the Winnipeg Jets brand in the NHL, it isn't as if there is going to be a tremendous amount of nostalgia for an old, minor-pro AHL identity once the NHL team sets-up shop. They'd be limited to selling Jets-branded merchandise... period. By raising the Moose brand to the NHL, True North gives said name and logo major-league cache, which will help it to generate merchandise sales. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets brand already has major-pro cache, albeit in the "nostalgia/throwback" category.

In any event, this is all ridiculous. Anyone with a brain in their head would dub a Winnipeg-based NHL franchise the...

WINNIPEG WENDIGO !!!

[The_Admiral]

Couldn't they just make new Jets stuff, sell throwback Jets stuff, and avoid the necessity of being called the Manitoba Moose? I mean, the Brewers do this. The only reason they haven't gone all the way back to ball-in-glove is that their dithering allows them to double-dip. People don't just want hockey back, and they don't just want the current Coyotes back, they want the Winnipeg Jets back. TNSE can't be that tone-deaf and obstinate.

[Sodboy13]

Well, they could be setting themselves up for a Seattle Sounders-type scenario, in which they trot out a name that goes against common sense, marketing, and fan loyalties, and then follow up with "Due to the tremendous outpouring of fan response..."

[M4One]

I still want to call BS on this one. How can a team name and uniforms be put in place when we don't really have an official buyer yet. I'm assuming that would be the group who would decide such a thing, once they ACTUALLY own the team.

Don't forget that the Coytoes almost left this year until Glendale came up with that $25 million to keep the team in town, so I can see the potential owners having gotten jerseys ready to go. I can't see the owners showing/telling the reporter, though, without knowing for sure that they were going to get the team.

As far as naming the team Manitoba something, I think that is unnecessary if they feel that way they can reprensent the entire province. You don't need to name the team after the province/state for it to represent the entire province. The Canucks don't call themselves the British Columbia Canucks, yet they are not just Vancouver's team, but BC's team. In the end, if they don't name the team (if they get one back) the Jets, then whether they call them Winnipeg or Manitoba probably is going to be based on what just sounds better, at least that's what I would do. To me, Colorado Avalanche sounds better than Denver Avalanche, or Florida Panthers compared to Miami Panthers.

The Jets name should come back, especially if it is the Phoenix Coyotes coming back home. If it is some other team, I can see why you would come up with a new identity. Maybe, it would just be me, but to call the team Jets, yet not being able to claim the history of the previous team while the original team is still around will be strange. Had the team left for Phoenix did what the OKC Thunder and Cleveland Browns were essential forced to do when they left by leaving behind the former team names, colours, logos, and history and start out new in their new city, then it would be okay to name the new Winnipeg team Jets no matter where they relocated from.

[TruColor]

I'm not saying they should, but can you imagine an NHL version of the Manitoba Moose? And if they retained the current logos and colors??? How amazing would that be; an identity born from my own SSUR.org site and this very board, designed by one of the members here.

It would be pretty cool.

[nash61]

I'm not saying they should, but can you imagine an NHL version of the Manitoba Moose? And if they retained the current logos and colors??? How amazing would that be; an identity born from my own SSUR.org site and this very board, designed by one of the members here.

It would be pretty cool.

Who designed their logos?

[CC97]

I'm not saying they should, but can you imagine an NHL version of the Manitoba Moose? And if they retained the current logos and colors??? How amazing would that be; an identity born from my own SSUR.org site and this very board, designed by one of the members here.

It would be pretty cool.

Agreed!

[kw11333]

Don't the Coyotes own the naming and colours to the Jets? When they moved, they initially kept all the banners in the Jets colours, and I know there ring of honer is still in the Jets colours.

[The_Admiral]

To me, Colorado Avalanche sounds better than Denver Avalanche

Funny, I'm the opposite. I prefer Denver because there's a consensus on how to pronounce Denver.

[Webhamster]

To me, Colorado Avalanche sounds better than Denver Avalanche

Funny, I'm the opposite. I prefer Denver because there's a consensus on how to pronounce Denver.

There's a dispute on the pronunciation of "Colorado"?

[The_Admiral]

Some people say rad, some people say rod, some people vacillate between the two in the same sentence. Same with Nevada.