2013-2014 NHL Uniform & Logo Changes

[BigBubba]

Nothing can make me get over the razor thin trim (I'm not even going to call that striping). It looks awful, and there's not a single jersey with it that looks good.

[The Giant Pacific Octopus]

I'm not going to argue with a guy who doesn't understand or refuses to learn the difference between a team in downtown St Paul and one in East Bloomington and one with every game on TV vs one absent from TV. Moving to the Target Center was the correct move regardless if Dallas became a success or not, Norm Green was the wrong owner at the wrong time who bought the team for the sole purpose of extorting money for a new arena (i.e. Clay Bennett) and did not act in good faith.

Probably because you don't have a valid argument to defend people ignoring this team (despite consistent playoff appearances) and use the arena or bad owner excuse. Even though that "bad owner" spent $2 million of his own money to upgrade the Met Center and that the North Stars played in front of empty seats through various ownership groups though the decades.

You guys didn't want to come out and support them then don't whine because they left town.

[habsfan1]

The more I see the Blue Jackets' current jerseys (not including the alternate which I think blows) the more I don't understand the problems so many people seem to have with it. I think it's really quite good. Nothing outstanding but far from being terrible. I also don't mind the red pants even on the away jerseys. They're called the blue JACKETS, not the blue pants. It's irrelevant to me what color their pants are.

I don't even mind the red pants. The Rangers do not have copyright over usage of red pants over blue jerseys.

The real problem is that they look like a million bucks, but it doesn't translate to their play. If they accomplished more, items with the Jackets logo would quickly start leaving the shelves.

[The_Admiral]

The SI article mentions that most North Stars games were on cable, and the Twin Cities weren't wired for cable yet in 1990 (!). So there's your ratings hole.

Wasn't Chicago (the city itself) a latecomer to cable as well? Too much quibbling with various cable providers, something like that. I wonder how common that was.

[Sodboy13]

I want to say Chicago got cable in the city limits around '85 or '86, and was considered pretty late to the party, which is why the idea of MSP not being wired in '90 really threw me. Before that, Chicagoans had the weird over-the-air pay channel thing with ON-TV on Channel 44 and SportsVision on Channel 60.

[JayP]

Man I am really loving those Winter Classic jerseys. I love the fact that the Maple Leafs went with true white. Although, I was kinda hoping they would be bring the white alternates they used until 2011. Reminded me of the Team Canada jerseys.

BTW, does anyone know if/when Team Canada is going to bring out a new design for their jerseys? I remember they used to switch designs for every 4 years prior to the Olympics, but the template they've been using now has been in use since 2008. Not that I don't like it, but I like associating certain World Junior teams with the Team Canada jerseys they played in.

[zpqmaowl]

On Thursday, the LA Kings will wear these jerseys during pregame warmups (via @BaileyLAKings). Get tickets for Dodgers Pride Night:www.atmlb.com/156pDDK.

[ColeJ]

my stab at the continuation of the stars/north stars debate...

in my opinion, norm green is scum. he's scum that allowed me to be united with the team that i've lived and died with for the past twenty years, and i'm forever grateful... but that doesn't change that he's scum.

on top of that, the fans in minnesota did NOT support the north stars well enough... but again, that doesn't make norm green a good guy.

the move worked for everyone. dallas got a team with an interesting history that we readily accept and celebrate. minnesota got a second chance with a new team that they adore. dallas didn't have to deal with norm green for very long at all.

the only people who lose are people who think that the stars identity absolutely belongs in minnesota. but who cares if they lose? they're retards. the ravens shouldn't wear anything that looks like the colts. the timberwolves shouldn't wear anything that looks like the lakers, and the los angeles dodgers are more than allowed to wear brooklyn throwbacks.

the wild can have forest green and wheat and/or red all they want. they can have celebrity events with dino and broten and modano and gagner... but the wild shouldn't ever wear north stars jerseys. that team is in dallas now. soon to be wearing the same shade of kelly green that is so vital to the north stars identity.

all of this is good. (almost) everyone wins.

[hormone]

On Thursday, the LA Kings will wear these jerseys during pregame warmups (via @BaileyLAKings). Get tickets for Dodgers Pride Night:www.atmlb.com/156pDDK.

I think this has minor league written all over it...like the Admirals/Brewers jerseys.

[TBGKon]

It's just a warmup jersey. No different than the green St Patricks Day warmups.

[sportstar1212]

Those jerseys look sweet. The Dodgers need a blue alt like that ASAP.

[OnWis97]

my stab at the continuation of the stars/north stars debate...

in my opinion, norm green is scum. he's scum that allowed me to be united with the team that i've lived and died with for the past twenty years, and i'm forever grateful... but that doesn't change that he's scum.

on top of that, the fans in minnesota did NOT support the north stars well enough... but again, that doesn't make norm green a good guy.

the move worked for everyone. dallas got a team with an interesting history that we readily accept and celebrate. minnesota got a second chance with a new team that they adore. dallas didn't have to deal with norm green for very long at all.

the only people who lose are people who think that the stars identity absolutely belongs in minnesota. but who cares if they lose? they're retards. the ravens shouldn't wear anything that looks like the colts. the timberwolves shouldn't wear anything that looks like the lakers, and the los angeles dodgers are more than allowed to wear brooklyn throwbacks.

the wild can have forest green and wheat and/or red all they want. they can have celebrity events with dino and broten and modano and gagner... but the wild shouldn't ever wear north stars jerseys. that team is in dallas now. soon to be wearing the same shade of kelly green that is so vital to the north stars identity.

all of this is good. (almost) everyone wins.

I generally agree with this. though I personally still lose because I have just not been able to embrace the Wild like I did the North Stars. My NHL fandom never quite recovered. But it appears I am not the majority, as the Wild are quite embraced. People have moved on. And as stupid (and it is sooooo stupid) of a name as Wild is, there's no going back now. It would be just strange to take a 12 year old team and give it a re-name and makeover.

Wild are not the North Stars and should not try to be. And for the most part it's been handled well. The Wild hosted a North Stars alumni ceremony this year. All the players wore N-Star jerseys (jerseys that would remind one of the old North Stars but did not match any actual design they ever wore). And as you say, if they honor North Stars of the past, that's cool. They could even have considered retiring #7 for Neal Broten because of his lifelong connection with Minnesota. But they did not and so be it.

As for Dallas, I've often said that I am glad they acknowledge their Minnesota past in some ways. They maintain the Minnesota retired numbers (19-Masterton who died on the ice, 8-Goldsworthy) and they retired Neal Broten's number based pretty much entirely on what he did in Minnesota (I know he played in Dallas, but his best years were obviously in Minnesota). As a fan of the Minnesota North Stars, this beats them having changed their name to the Armadillos and pretending they were an expansion team in 1993. There is no franchise acknowledging the Expos' history and that's too bad.

[KrazyHorse]

The SI article mentions that most North Stars games were on cable, and the Twin Cities weren't wired for cable yet in 1990 (!). So there's your ratings hole.

I don't quite understand what that means. While my parents would not do it, I definitely knew plenty of people in the TCs with cable in the 1980s.

I was just a kid so I probably did not have a clue, but I thought they had decent support. But a look at the attendanceshows some shockingly bad years. Nevertheless, I think they could have survived. Norm Green caused a few problems. This was a different era so the 1991 Stanley cup finals were stuck with local coverage. And Norm put them on ... Pay Per View. That was awfully short sighted in terms of relationship-building with fans. Even in Minnesota, the NHL cannot touch MLB or the NFL. Then there was his sexual harassment charge.

As for attendance, I think it was a secondary cause of the team moving. There was some serious bandwagoning going on (particularly after the finals appearances)...part of the issue was the ol' Tampa Bay Rays excuse: the location of the arena. Had they moved downtown, they'd have probably drawn better. It was a great arena from a sight line perspective (still often considered the best to this day), but the location was less than convenient...yes it's by that stupid mall, but it's still an awful location for anyone in the north metro (or those working downtown) to get to for a 7:00 Tuesday game. And they were apparently getting serious about a move to the Target Center. According to this book (I think a quote from Lou Nanne), the North Stars and Timberwolves were hung up on revenue from the advertisements placed on the boards. Ugh. I really believe that downtown location would have helped their numbers.

But the big thing was that Normy wanted public money. The Met Center, as great as it was for Joe Fan, had no luxury boxes and was even by then probably a lower-revenue arena. The Target Center move, along with increasing overall attendance, would have helped with revenue. But that did not work out and nobody was willing to build him an arena or provide money (I want to say it was only like $15 million) for Met Center upgrades. So in true Minnesota fashion, we called his bluff and spent a bunch more money to acquire a different franchise (with a silly name) a few years later.

They also spent most of their history (including their last nine years) mired in mediocrity. Yes they had a finals trip in 1991, but that was with the 17th best record in the (23 team?) NHL.

A Tale of Two Cities...

Norm Green is vilified in Minnesota for moving their beloved North Stars to the hockey wasteland of Dallas.

Norm Green is given standing ovations in Dallas for delivering their beloved Stars from the unappreciative Minnesota hockey snobs.

No matter which way you look at it the team is more successful in Dallas than it ever was in Minnesota. Like any owner Green wanted more money. Minneapolis/St Paul would not help him, much like they wouldn't help any other owner. Dallas was more than happy to accept them and filled the arena.

I understand the bad feelings about the team moving. It would break my heart if the Stars moved to another city. But no one should blame the fans or city of Dallas. They did not steal the North Stars away. If it wasn't Dallas it would've been Kansas City or some other city. Fans need to accept the fact that both cities now benefit, even though now one benefits at the cost of the other.

You seem on the defensive about...well nothing. Nobody has said anything about Dallas or its fans in this thread. In fact "unappreciative Minnesota hockey snobs" is really the only shot hurled at fans regarding this topic. That and admiral's barbs about how much people in Minnesota like high school hockey.

Admittedly, it was a bit of salt in many of our wounds to lose our team to a place like Dallas. At the time, sun belt hockey (outside of the Expansion 6 Kings) was fairly new (maybe the Lighting had been established) and it was odd to see the team packing up for a place where nobody skates on a pond. I was a teenager and did not understand one plain truth. Dallas was a better NHL market at the time. Even now with our nice new arena, it probably still is at least as good of a hockey market...it's not about how many fans have played hockey or about hockey knowledge (which I doubt is equal even now, but what do I know). It's about the ability to make money. And it was there in Dallas. Now it's there in both places. Yes the Stars were better upon their arrival to Dallas. Yes, some other team would have won the cup in 1999 had the North Stars survived in Minnesota. I know all this. Additionally, Dallas's four teams are historically better than Minnesota's (with the possible exception of MLB, but even then it's roughly even), Texas has better weather, better barbeque, more knowledgeable hockey fans, and should I go on?

I guess the main point of my replay is to ask what the hell you are whining about. I ripped the owner a bit had the gall to suggest that it could have worked in Minnesota, and said nothing about Dallas or its fans. And I don't think anyone else in this thread did either.

I was trying to make a point about how the situation has two different points of view from the two fan bases but I didn't do a very good job. Then it turned into a bitch about how Minnesota fans rip Dallas because they lost their team. I shouldn't have quoted you, it made it look like I was directly replying to you when in fact I wasn't.

[rxmc89]

The only reason I don't mind the black here is because it contrasted with the navy under the TV lights.

There is no damn black in that jersey. It's just a darker navy.

BTW, this isn't a direct response to you, but to everyone saying that there's black in the jersey.

[TheOldRoman]

No, it's black.

[rxmc89]

No, it's black.

Uh, no. It's navy.

[Sport]

The only reason I don't mind the black here is because it contrasted with the navy under the TV lights.

There is no damn black in that jersey. It's just a darker navy.

BTW, this isn't a direct response to you, but to everyone saying that there's black in the jersey.

No, it's black.

Uh, no. It's navy.

It's black. I own two of those jerseys one of which is an authentic.

[rxmc89]

The only reason I don't mind the black here is because it contrasted with the navy under the TV lights.

There is no damn black in that jersey. It's just a darker navy.

BTW, this isn't a direct response to you, but to everyone saying that there's black in the jersey.

No, it's black.

Uh, no. It's navy.

It's black. I own two of those jerseys one of which is an authentic.

Seriously? You'd think on a website where people are so obsessive about colors that so many people wouldn't make this mistake. I can clearly tell in those photos that it's navy. Do you guys think that the Yankees wear black, too?

[Sport]

The only reason I don't mind the black here is because it contrasted with the navy under the TV lights.

There is no damn black in that jersey. It's just a darker navy.

BTW, this isn't a direct response to you, but to everyone saying that there's black in the jersey.

No, it's black.

Uh, no. It's navy.

It's black. I own two of those jerseys one of which is an authentic.

Seriously? You'd think on a website where people are so obsessive about colors that so many people wouldn't make this mistake. I can clearly tell in those photos that it's navy. Do you guys think that the Yankees wear black, too?

Yes seriously. The sleeves and hem stripe and the middle of the stripe on the socks was black.

Fix your monitor.

again. I personally have this jersey. I've studied the colors many times for this very reason. The black parts are as black as any black jersey in the NHL.

[TruColor]

The only reason I don't mind the black here is because it contrasted with the navy under the TV lights.

There is no damn black in that jersey. It's just a darker navy.

BTW, this isn't a direct response to you, but to everyone saying that there's black in the jersey.

No, it's black.

Uh, no. It's navy.

It's black. I own two of those jerseys one of which is an authentic.

Seriously? You'd think on a website where people are so obsessive about colors that so many people wouldn't make this mistake. I can clearly tell in those photos that it's navy. Do you guys think that the Yankees wear black, too?

Yes seriously. The sleeves and hem stripe and the middle of the stripe on the socks was black.

Fix your monitor.

again. I personally have this jersey. I've studied the colors many times for this very reason. The black parts are as black as any black jersey in the NHL.

The official files (!) say BLACK:

Done. End of story. I thought it was stupid at the time (and still do), but it was what it was, and that was BLACK.