Past vs. Present: Jersey Colors and Styles

For the people who know me personally, they know I have quite a few of hockey jerseys. I have them in all sizes and teams. At one point, I had over 40 jerseys of NHL teams. This weekend, I decided to wash the jerseys that I wear throughout the winter months that have not been cleaned in a while (it sucks wearing a hot jersey in the humid months).

In the 2008-2009 season, the NHL switched to the new Reebok Edge jerseys. The players had their complaints, claiming that since moisture does not go through the jersey, it rolls off the jersey into the gloves and skates. With the new jerseys came new designs that weren’t what everyone expected. There was less horizontal striping, and more interesting patterns. Some of the fans hate the edge jerseys, and I understand their complaints.

The biggest problem I have is how over time the colors of the jerseys changed. And while it may sound like a small complaint, it is important to me. We live in the age of high definition televisions, capable of giving off tremendous detail and more colors than we can imagine, yet it feels like every team’s jersey is black, or very dark shades of whatever color.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that every jersey can’t be a different color. What I would like to see though is some of the colors of the past. For example, look at Dallas’ jersey. The jersey is such a dark green that it may as well be black. What about going back to the green that was the North Stars’? Think about the powder blue that was the Quebec Nordiques – we won’t see anything even close to that color for a very long time. It isn’t just the main color of the jersey either – everyone is starting to use it for the trim of their jerseys. I point to the Devils going from red and green to red and black. The Calgary Flames used to have red white and yellow on their dark jerseys, now it feels like there is much more black than yellow.

Some teams do put on some different colors, and my favorite example is the Oilers’ bright blue and orange jerseys from the ‘80s. That is what I want to see more often not a radical departure from their current. Get rid of their dark navy jerseys and wear those the whole time. The Pittsburgh Penguins use their blue jerseys from the Winter Classic (based off of another old jersey) as their alternate jersey, and that is another one I’m a fan of. As much as I hate the fact that the word “Vancouver” is on the front of their jerseys, Vancouver’s blue jersey is another good example of wearing some bright colors.

Some of the designs of the new jerseys are terrible in my opinion. I point at Dallas again. I cannot stand having numbers on the front of the jersey. I also just hate that the Stars and Canucks put a word on the front of their jersey. I just don’t like it – put the logo on there and nothing else. Even the Sharks jerseys are acceptable to me with the small number on the upper corner of the jersey. The Buffalo and Florida jerseys are a mess, but I guess their logo isn’t helping matters very much. I wish that all of the teams kept the same base design that was around before the jersey switch. Look at the old Colorado and Dallas jerseys – two of my favorites. They were unique, and incorporated something into the jersey that could only be used by them. The Stars’ jersey was actually a star when the arms were extended and the Avalanche jersey looked like mountains.

I give credit to teams like Detroit and Montreal to recognize that their jerseys are awesome the way they are, and that they should not be drastically changed. There is something to say about that. Detroit and Montreal are original six teams that have had different styles of jerseys in the past, and yet they still continue to use these because everyone loves them. I doubt you’ll ever find anyone (including Buffalo fans) who calls Buffalo’s jersey one of the best in the league and excludes the likes of Chicago or Boston.
Enjoy your high definition television and the most colorful thing to see on your screen is the players’ sticks and the blue line.

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