Ah yes, the slow summer months are waning and we have hit the last couple weeks
before the preseason activities commence. Sure, things have been slow but a few
teams have tried to keep us guessing by releasing the new jerseys they
will be donning for the coming years. Carolina, Dallas, San Jose, and Minnesota
all have come out with different looks, some more striking than others, and
Buffalo also has an upcoming alternate in the works that is about a month and a
half past due. So which teams have hit it out of the park and which fans should
stock up on the old sweater before they are no longer available? 2-4-T uses
their scientific rating system to find out.
Then
Getty
Now
sharks.nhl.com
As a Sharks fan, I didn't even know the team was due to
release a new look until about the week of the unveiling. I didn't even know they needed a new look. Well, I didn't think they did. The main concerns
that drove the team to a change was a) a jersey built with lightweight
performance in mind, similar to their black thirds, and b) less orange, as per
a general request from fans. As we can see, the result was very underwhelming.
Now I don’t hate these uniforms as much as I did when I
first laid eyes on them but that doesn't mean that I like them by any stretch
of the imagination. Gone are the black shoulder yokes on the home and teal yokes
on the away, the orange accents on the numbers, the stripes across the waist,
and one of two orange stripes on the elbows. If I didn't know any better, I
would think these are their practice jerseys.
I don’t understand the issue with the orange first of all. I
thought it fit well because it's plainly there in the hockey stick in their logo and was applied
proportionately with that considered. It was also, and still is, used more as a highlight than anything to really distract from the strong points of the jersey itself. Fine, get rid
of the orange if you must, but if you are going that route then bring back the grey to at least keep things a little bit interesting.
The trend recently seems to be teams scaling back "cluttered" jerseys in favour of a simpler, more "classic" look. The problem here is that
the San Jose Sharks broke into the league in 1991 which, in my book, doesn't
make them classic in the slightest. There are no throwback
liberties for this team unless you want to stretch their legacy back to the
California Golden Seals of the original expansion era and that would be pushing
it in a big way.
More to the point, going with a "classic" design clashes
immensely with their non-classic logo, which is only six years old in its
current incarnation. Sure, the old jersey is a little busy for some people's
tastes but at least all the elements meshed well. Now the shark chomping on the
hockey stick stands out like a sore thumb. And with the reduced striping and
the absent shoulder caps, the lines around the elbows seem less like accents
and more like afterthoughts.
Carolina Hurricanes: Mediocrity at Its Finest
Then
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Now
hurricanes.nhl.com
Back to the whole "simplicity equals classic" mindset, Carolina
attempted to achieve this with their new uniforms but merely hit the boring
nail on the head. Their away jerseys aren't terrible, I wouldn't mind seeing
them come to town in those, but the home look appears to be a red onesie with a
couple white stripes thrown in because hey, why not?
The thing about these jerseys is that the Hurricanes seem to
be abandoning anything that would make their appearance unique aside from the
logo on the front. They did away with the warning flags on the shoulders, the
tastefully italicized numbers, and the checkers across the waist. And
with their logo not being, well, much to look at, if one were to get rid of
that, the design is almost a carbon copy of Team Canada’s general layout. Good
thing most Carolina residents likely won't make the association for a little
while.
Again, we see a team trying to emulate a timeless look
without having the resume of a timeless franchise. The Carolina Hurricanes have
a little more to their credit than the Sharks do seeing as the franchise traces
back to the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association before joining
the NHL in 1979 as the Hartford Whalers. If the team really wanted to honour
the past with their uniform it would make a lot more sense to dip into their
own history, a history that saw Mr. Hockey himself retire in the sweater.
The old Hurricanes jerseys may have been a little bold but
at least they were unique and easily differentiated. Instead of taking what
worked about those and retooling, they scrapped the whole thing and simply went
generic. And if that was the strategy, why not redo that thing on the front that
they’re calling a logo?
Dallas Stars: I Could Get Used To This
Then
USA Today Sports
Now
Icethetics
It looks like the Stars are entering a moderate rebuild
period and with a new general manager and coach it isn't too far-fetched to
give the team a makeover. After about a year of research, owner Tom Gaglardi
found a look he felt comfortable with and I can't say they are all that bad. Part
of the appeal to these uniforms is that, while we have yet another team
searching for the Original Six feel, the new logo is quite modern and the colour
scheme is entirely their own.
The logo itself is a great new addition since the old star logo
taking the place of the "A" in "Stars" has been reduced to a shoulder patch and
helmet decal after being phased out as the main crest in 2010. More so, the
new star logo keeps the same asymmetrical tilt of the old logo but now features
a "D" smartly wedged within. None of these changes are extreme but
simply give the Stars an updated look for the years to come.
The most striking change for the squad will be the colours
used. The main hue is a crossover between the Kelly Green from the Minnesota
North Stars days and Dallas's old Forest Green, a combination they are ambitiously calling "Victory Green".
While they have kept white and black in the mix, the newer jerseys feature
silver instead of the heavier, fellow transition metal, gold. Admittedly the
colour change takes some adjusting to but the overall look is more interesting
than the old black and gold while remaining focused and uncluttered.
Minnesota Wild: Finally Getting It Right
Then
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Now
Dean Thibodeau
Unlike the other three teams in this list, the Wild only changed
their away jersey. An overhaul might be a little ambitious for the palette since
their home, away, and alternate jerseys all have minds of their own but
sometimes the subtle changes make all the difference.
The new jersey features the same logo from the old whites
instead of ditching the stylized landscape for the script of the alternates
like many were expecting. But that would pretty much be the only similarity
when all is said and done.
First, the cuff-to-cuff shoulder yoke has been pared back
and squared off at, you guessed it, the shoulder blades. Similarly, the green-gold-red
striped trim at the bottom has been swapped out for a higher-sitting pair of
green stripes of different thicknesses around the waist. And with the reduction
along the wingspan, the new jersey was afforded some space to add similar
stripes around the elbows. They abandoned the rigid font of the numbers to
align with their other sweaters and, finally, the shoulder patch has been
changed to match the main crest on the home jersey.
In my opinion, this is how we should define a
"clean" look for an expansion-era team. The main crest maintains the
uniqueness of the team's logo. The accents contribute to the identity of the
sweater without distracting from the focus. It doesn't over-encumber itself
with superfluous lines while keeping its colour scheme balanced. Imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery but not every team can have iconic looks, like the
Montreal Canadiens or Toronto Maple Leafs, until they have the hardware to back
it up.
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