2013-2014 NHL Uniform & Logo Changes

[Sodboy13]

Lou Lamiorello will take any opportunity to remind fans that creativity and fun have no place in hockey.

As for busting Isles fans' chops because of attendance, I can sympathize. Look at the Hawks' numbers before the old man died, and they weren't playing in an asbestos pit. That wasn't a case of "bad fans" or "not enough fans", that was a case of fans not wanting to put up their money for the privilege of watching a perpetual suckfest. I imagine it's much the same story in Uniondale.

[Morgan33]

Lou Lamiorello will take any opportunity to remind fans that creativity and fun have no place in hockey.

No kidding. Those Green and Red throw backs should have been made the full time alternates 5 years ago.

[Sodboy13]

The Devils have too much tradition to wear an alternate jersey, according to the Devils.

[The_Admiral]

I'm against alternates in all sports but baseball (and even then, sparingly), so I see where the Devils are coming from in only wanting to look like themselves, but the red and green sweaters just looked so good. Of course, so do the ones they wear now, which they won championships in, so it's a tough call. You can't go wrong with either color scheme, honestly, but I lean slightly toward the red/green Devils, which had a bit more character.

[Sodboy13]

Even though it's a perfectly good look with that great crest, I always think of the Devils' uniforms as "boring", probably because of all the hockey I saw played in them from 1995 to 2004.

I'd be fine with teams just going home/road and being done with it, but alternate jerseys are free money, so there's probably no turning back on that, short of the purchasing public losing interest in buying jerseys (keep trying, Reebok!). You've got three of the Original 6 in alternates (four when the Hawks bring their black one next year, if that's still the plan), so obviously those teams don't view tradition as an impediment to a delightful cash grab. And that, to me, speaks more to the culture of the Devils organization than anything. You bring back a prior look that gets praise for its return from far and wide, and then you give it as little exposure as possible. I guess this should be expected from the Eastern Conference's champions of anti-marketing since 1995, when they were doing everything short of stacking Nashville travel brochures on the dais during playoff press conferences.

[El Scorcho]

I don't see alternates as spitting on tradition, quite the opposite.

Teams with highly traditional looks are able to maintain that tradition for their home and road jerseys, while still being able to have a bit of fun with jersey designs and sell some new merchandise. They get to have their cake and eat it too.

[Kramerica Industries]

Even though it's a perfectly good look with that great crest, I always think of the Devils' uniforms as "boring", probably because of all the hockey I saw played in them from 1995 to 2004.

I'd be fine with teams just going home/road and being done with it, but alternate jerseys are free money, so there's probably no turning back on that, short of the purchasing public losing interest in buying jerseys (keep trying, Reebok!). You've got three of the Original 6 in alternates (four when the Hawks bring their black one next year, if that's still the plan), so obviously those teams don't view tradition as an impediment to a delightful cash grab. And that, to me, speaks more to the culture of the Devils organization than anything. You bring back a prior look that gets praise for its return from far and wide, and then you give it as little exposure as possible. I guess this should be expected from the Eastern Conference's champions of anti-marketing since 1995, when they were doing everything short of stacking Nashville travel brochures on the dais during playoff press conferences.

1995 New Jersey did produce this, however:

Better than nothing.

[Kevin W.]

Three things.

1. Holy cow, what a great-looking matchup uniform-wise.

2. Damn. What a hit by Brodeur.

3. Is it just me or did the Canucks actually do the impossible and make wearing white pants look good last night?

[hockey week]

3. Is it just me or did the Canucks actually do the impossible and make wearing white pants look good last night?

I wouldn't say good...just not-heinous.

I really hope this doesn't become a trend

[Kevin W.]

Well, I didn't say great.

[njdevs7]

Lou Lamoriello has stated many times that he is against alternate jerseys and that the Devils will never have an alternate jersey as long as he is in charge of the team. He thinks that it is a gimmick and a money grab for the organization. Devils fans were so surprised that Lou let them wear the throwbacks at all, even if it was only for 1 game a year. At this point I doubt there will ever be any changes to the Devils jersey (one of the few to stay EXACTLY the same during the Reebok edge transformation). Many non-Devils fans think that they should go back to the Red and Green, but it will never happen. Unlike the other teams who have gone back to their original looks (Oilers, Islanders), the Devils' original look is synonymous with losing. They were horrible when they wore the green and have created a classic, winning look with their current red and black jerseys. The only other chance we have to see another Devils jersey would be if they were ever in a Winter Classic, I would bet money on them wearing the old white and green jerseys.

[wildwing64]

I don't have a problem with alternate uniforms. With them teams can either test the waters for a potential future rebrand or they can simply wear something different once in a while. I mean, if you're a marquee team like Montreal, Chicago or Detroit with a brand that's strong enough to sell without the need for an alternate jersey, then maybe you don't need one because the powerful brand is what makes your franchise appealing. I suppose I'm more in favour of alternate uniforms because I find the Ducks identity to be painfully boring without the third - but if they too had an identity that was strong enough to not need a third, then I'd be OK with that too.

New Jersey seems to think of itself as a marquee franchise so I'll give them credit for pushing their identity the same way as say an O6 team, even if they come across as a bit generic.

[Sodboy13]

Pretty sure New Jersey would turn down a Winter Classic invite. It would give the appearance of them actively marketing the team.

[TheOldRoman]

I think the Devils' current uniforms are really good, yet somehow very boring. I much prefer the green and black colors, but I don't think there's any way they are going back at this point, and they probably shouldn't, considering the success they've had in their current set.

While I love the green and red colors, I don't like the uniforms. The white one looked fine, I suppose, with green and red stripes separated by white. However, they failed by trying to port the same stripes over to the red jersey. When I look at it, I don't see the same striping pattern, I see white-green-white with a random floating white stripe above it (or below in the case of the hem).

[Sport]

I think the Devils' current uniforms are really good, yet somehow very boring. I much prefer the green and black colors, but I don't think there's any way they are going back at this point, and they probably shouldn't, considering the success they've had in their current set.

While I love the green and red colors, I don't like the uniforms. The white one looked fine, I suppose, with green and red stripes separated by white. However, they failed by trying to port the same stripes over to the red jersey. When I look at it, I don't see the same striping pattern, I see white-green-white with a random floating white stripe above it (or below in the case of the hem).

I don't have a problem with that, it's the sleeve stripes being updside down from the hem stripes that's always bugged me.

I like their current colors and uniforms better by a mile. Red and black are so perfect for a team called the Devils that it's weird they ever worn any other color scheme.

[Morgan33]

Shameless plug alert

I definitely agree the striping of the original green and red set leaves much to be desired but those colours are just infinitely better. I always though if they'd look great if they combined the current striping pattern with the old colours, hence this old concept.

[JayMac]

I don't mind the red and black Devils look. Its just that there are too many red and black color schemes in the NHL. Off the top of my head, its the Blackhawks, Senators, and Hurricanes that all wear the same colors as the Devils. That's at least 2 too many. If the Sens went back to having black as the primary, that would solve half of the problem.

[TheOldRoman]

I don't mind the red and black Devils look. Its just that there are too many red and black color schemes in the NHL. Off the top of my head, its the Blackhawks, Senators, and Hurricanes that all wear the same colors as the Devils. That's at least 2 too many. If the Sens went back to having black as the primary, that would solve half of the problem.

In a perfect world, the Senators would go back to how they looked in 1998, the Devil would swap black for green on their current set, and the Hurricanes would either move back to Hartford to become the Whalers or just cease existing entirely.

[Kramerica Industries]

Lou Lamoriello has stated many times that he is against alternate jerseys and that the Devils will never have an alternate jersey as long as he is in charge of the team. He thinks that it is a gimmick and a money grab for the organization.

You know, if the Devils had ever decided to utilize this cash grab, they might've been able to keep some of the good players they've let leave in the past decade or so.

[hockey week]

I don't have a problem with alternate uniforms. With them teams can either test the waters for a potential future rebrand or they can simply wear something different once in a while. I mean, if you're a marquee team like Montreal, Chicago or Detroit with a brand that's strong enough to sell without the need for an alternate jersey, then maybe you don't need one because the powerful brand is what makes your franchise appealing. I suppose I'm more in favour of alternate uniforms because I find the Ducks identity to be painfully boring without the third - but if they too had an identity that was strong enough to not need a third, then I'd be OK with that too.

New Jersey seems to think of itself as a marquee franchise so I'll give them credit for pushing their identity the same way as say an O6 team, even if they come across as a bit generic.

Lately I've been fascinated by the lower-level teams that manage to wear a single jersey home and road, usually a yellow or orange or something bright. I know it's a soccer thing, I know the Cowboys do it with their whites, but it's so rare in hockey. In the NHL, I think only Nashville, maybe Philly, and if the Sens went full-barberpole (not just the modernization, but the original) could even attempt it.

I guess I've grown from "more jerseys! One offs every night!" to "let's make a jersey so great it can be worn every game," and I'm ok with that lol.