Hello again, I'm back with another "
My Thoughts" post. This time I'm reviewing all the NHL jerseys that were unveiled in late September.
Pittsburgh Penguins Third Jersey
For their new third jersey, the Penguins brought back a fan favourite design which they won two Stanley Cups in (1991 and 1992). It's also their first jersey to feature athletic-gold since they switched to vegas-gold 2002. I love this jersey, it's a classic look that immediately makes me think of Mario Lemieux, Jaromír Jágr, and those two Stanley Cups. That being said, I wouldn't want this jersey to become the Penguins' new home jersey, I'd much rather it stay a third jersey and something like
this concept by Scott be used for the primary jerseys.
Grade: A
Philadelphia Flyers Third Jersey
The Philadelphia Flyers also brought back a previous jersey, albeit one with less history behind it. They decided to bring back their 2012 Winter Classic jersey as they new third jersey. I think this jersey is "just okay", I'm not a big fan of it but I don't hate it either. The striping doesn't say Flyers to me, since it's their first jersey which uses traditional arm and hem stripes and a yolk. Although there is a bit of history behind the striping, the arm stripes are from their
1984-2001 orange socks, and the black shoulder yoke is reminiscent of the yoke on the old
Philadelphia Quakers jersey. One thing I really don't like is the use of vintage white, I just think normal white would look much better.
Grade: C+
Washington Capitals Winter Classic Jersey
Unlike the Penguins and Flyers who just brought back previous jerseys, the Capitals actually introduced something new, going with a fauxback design for their Winter Classic jersey. I'm not always a fan of fauxback jerseys, but I think the Capitals got it right. The jersey is
inspired by past hockey teams in the Washington area, and the end result really captures the feel of jerseys from the 1920's and 30's. There is also some cool symbolism in the uniform, the middle of the W in the logo is a silhouette of the Washington Monument (same with the top of the A's), the three white stars in the logo are a nod to the DC flag, and the white and red stripes on the shoulder yoke appear to be inspired by the American flag. There are a couple elements that I'm not yet sure if I like or not. I kind of think the W in the logo needs a white outline, but that might make it seem less retro. I have the same concern about the darker shade of red, part of me thinks the Capitals normal red would look better, but the other part of me thinks the darker shade of red adds to the vintage feel of the jersey. The one change I'd definitely make would be to move the hem stripes closer together, as the gap currently looks to big when compared to the spacing on the yoke and sock stripes. Those concerns are very minor though, overall I think this is a great jersey for a Winter Classic. And there's no vintage white!
Grade: A
Tampa Bay Lightning Third Jersey
The Lightning were the latest NHL team to unveil a new jersey, introducing a black third jersey with their "BOLTS" wordmark on the front. I've never been a fan of that wordmark simply for the fact that it uses a nickname, it would be like if the Canadiens wore a jersey that said "HABS" on the front. Besides the logo I actually think the rest of the jersey is decent, not great but decent. I think the striping looks good, it may not be a very interesting design but I don't need to be excited by a jerseys striping pattern (for example I like the Blue Jackets home jersey and the Ducks 2006-14 home jersey, two jerseys other people call boring). One negative many people have pointed out about the striping pattern is that it's similar to the Kings home jersey, and while I do see the similarities, there are enough differences that I'm not immediately reminded of the Kings when I look at the Lightning's new jersey. Moving on to the equipment, I think there is to much blue on the pants and socks. Simply switching the blue and white on those two elements would look much better in my opinion. Looking at the uniform as a whole, I think it's a slight improvement over their previous third jersey (which I wasn't a fan of, I ranked it as the league's
fifth worst jersey in 2012).
Grade: C+
So those are my thoughts on the new NHL jerseys that were introduced in September. If you have any thoughts on these jerseys, don't hesitate to leave a comment below.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
