Part 1 can be found here.Part 2 (Atlantic Division) here.Part 3 (Northeast Division) here.Part 4 (Southeast Division) here.Part 5 (Central Division) here.Part 6 (Northwest Division) here.IntroTo continue the saga of third jerseys and if, when, and how they will return to the NHL - the rest of this series will focus on the jerseys we have seen in the past, as well some speculation and critique as to what we may see in the future.
All images are linked to the originals from Webshots.com, the majority of these are game worn and are part of individual's collections.
The EndThis will conclude the overview of all the past 3rd jerseys the NHL has seen over the last 12 or so years, as well as my random thoughts on what's to come. Whenever the NHL officially green lights the resurrection of the third jersey program all of the crazy speculation and guesses can begin.
The Pacific DivisionMighty Ducks of AnaheimThat sound you hear is me rubbing my hands together as I prepare to partake in one of my favorite hobbies - nailing on a certain Disney owned NHL franchise that no longer exists. (I consider the non-Mighty Ducks of today a completely different animal with no connections to their sordid past.)
Not surprisingly, considering they were owned by a corporate giant that thrived on merchandise sales, the Mighty Ducks had quite a few third jerseys. Their first, and by far their most famous, was thrust upon the world in 1996. Simply referred to as the "Wild Wing jersey", that is the name of the mascot, these...how do I say this politely...were definitely an example of what happens when you let a cartoon studio run an NHL team. Now, there are proponents of these, however I like to think that their admiration for this particular jersey comes out of morbid fascination rather than actual aesthetic respect for what's going on here. Which is:
A duck wearing goalie pads, Wild Wing, sporting a duck - Wild Wing again - logo on a jersey, is popping out of the ice on the front of a Ducks jersey - referred to as the Wild Wing jersey....duck. If you wanted to beat a dead horse you could mention the use of the kidprint font, but I think that is a mute point considering one never really gets past the super hero goalie duck aspect of things. The only way I will ever have an ounce of respect for these is if someone can present me with some footage of someone dropping the gloves wearing them - and then getting trounced by the opponent. I'm not criticizing you Anaheim fans here, I'm saying you people deserved something better than this. If Disney wanted to sell jerseys like this they could have made D4 and had Emilio Estevez wear one, not poor Paul Kariya.
The Wild Wing jerseys would sadly only last the one year. The following season, as if out of ideas, the team didn't have a third jersey. However, to make up for some lost time they somehow managed to have not just a third jersey, but even a
fourth(!) for the 1997-98 season. I didn't even know a team could do that. They would actually have both in circulation until the 1999-2000 season when the jade one was dropped. In 2001 the white version was also dropped and the Ducks would actually play without a third jersey up till 2003.
Now these jerseys, the white and eggplant ones, weren't really all that terrible when it comes down to it. They were certainly less over the top than Wild Wing and easily could have replaced the Ducks regular jerseys. I'd be interested in knowing what sales of them were like, and how much the fans looked forward to seeing them, since they really weren't a huge departure in any direction. It's almost as if the league had said to Disney, "Look guys, we're willing to forgive you the last third jersey you had, even give you a fourth, just please don't make a mockery of the sport of hockey with them. Keep it simple."
When it was discovered that adults had taken to the
Harry Potter books the publishers put out versions with more mature looking covers to give them a slightly more dignified look as opposed to the illustrated kids covers. In much the same way the Ducks came out with what would have to have been their most "respectable" jersey in 2003. First of all it was black, which wasn't even one of the Ducks official colors. The Ducks cartoon logo was no place to be seen, a new MD monogram logo was used on the shoulders and the crest featured a baseball like word mark. Even the jade was gone. The striping was traditional and even featured a laced collar. It was an interesting manouver to say the least, and gained some popularity amongst the fans and it certainly made them look like a hockey team on the ice. The team would wear them in their last two seasons of play before the new owners came in and started to clean house - changing the logo, the colors, the team name, and becoming the first California based team to win a Stanley Cup. Something which had been in the making for nigh on 40 years. The non-mighty Anaheim Ducks have not had a third jersey, and what they would bring out if the opportunity presented itself is anyone's guess. All one can say for certain is that it will be of no resemblance to anything the Disney franchise ever brought the NHL world.
Dallas StarsThe Stars well known star jersey actually started as a third jersey during the 1997-98 season, at the time Dallas was still wearing the same style they had inherited from Minnesota before the move. One doesn't even need to mention the importance for the team to create it's own identity and look to understand why they came about. Nor does one need to question why the team made them their official jerseys just 2 years later when they added a white counterpart. To me they always seemed like the jerseys the team should have had from the beginning. I mean what better way to incorporate the name into the look? How about what better way not to incorporate a team name into a look - which brings us to the infamous
mooterus.
Before the
buffaslug, there was the
mooterus. (Which, if you are puzzled here, is the combination of two words that describe what the logo on the jersey looks like.) Now, the actual jerseys themselves aren't that bad. They are a bit more colorful than the home and aways with the use of red, and stars on the sleeves are nice, the text and numbers are identical to the others, so what is it that is so unappealing about these? A mere mention of them will provoke a negative response in anyone familiar with them. In fact, they would only last two seasons (2003-04 and 2005-06), before being sent to the jersey boneyard.
The most obvious reason behind their failure is that they were trying too hard to be something other than a Dallas Stars jersey. They looked like another team's jersey. They didn't use the Stars crest, they used a longhorn or bull or steer
in combination with what was seemingly a constellation of the animal (your choice)
plus a slug like star streaking around the side like a comet. It was too busy, too confusing, and unnecessary. Oh and yes, the fact that it was constantly (and still is) referred to as the mooterus obviously didn't help matters.
Whatever Dallas does with a third jersey in the future you can put everything you own on that it won't be the return of their last alternate. More than likely they will bring out something completely new and hopefully make more use of the color green.
Los Angeles KingsAnother classic that came out of the first season of third jerseys, and would sadly not live past it. The Kings famous, and now highly sought after,
Burger King style jerseys were nothing short of jaw dropping. With not only gradients and arcing rings, they also featured non matching sleeves, the Kings crest on the shoulders, and a font that was anything but conducive for being on a sports jersey. But, most noticable of all was the oddly placed king logo on the front. (To make things just a little odder, Los Angeles wouldn't actually bring purple back to the teams uniforms for another three years.) If you can find a Gretzky game worn version of this jersey you'll probably be able to sell it for a mint (or at least early retirement) in about 20 years.
After the switch back to purple (or plum if you want to be more precise) the Kings brought out their second third jersey in 1999. Similar to the home and away jerseys in all respects, except for the main use of purple, the only real difference here was the switching of the main and alternate logos. I guess the Kings liked this switch, since they would actually make the strange decision to do the same with their home and away jerseys in 2002, at which point their third jersey (still the purple one) switched back to their original logo use. (If that was hard to follow see the two purple jerseys to the right.) Things would stay like this till this season, and the team currently uses the crown logo as the crest.
I have to say I like the Kings new jerseys, and I like the fact that they are using the simpler of the two logos. I've never been a huge fan of the words "Los Angeles" on the jersey itself, but it does make them stand out. For a third jersey I can imagine them simply going back to the purple one they've had in the past, otherwise they've always got the old yellow and purple ones from the 70's and 80's or, if they can deal with it, the black and silver from the Gretzky era.
Phoenix Coyotes
The one Coyotes venture into third jersey land came with these classics between 1998 and 2003 (when they switched logos and colors.) Now, I'm all for a team using their location when it comes to creating a look and itentity, however there is a line that one shouldn't cross. Unfortunately the Coyotes not only crossed it they seemingly backed up about 50 feet and took a running jump over it. (Possibly a triple jump.) Yes, they look "cool", and they're "neat. And, if it was the NBA, well, be my guest. But, I really think that having an established or at least respectable appearance on the ice goes a long way for not only the team but also the face of the sport and the NHL. Granted the other two jerseys the Coyotes were wearing at this same period of time probably weren't doing much for this either, but at least they lacked cacti. Now, after my negative diatribe there I will proceed to give the Coyotes two positive (warm fuzzy) comments regarding these jerseys. First of all they were predominately green, which is a color which is slowly becoming extinct as a main color in not just the NHL but practically all major sports. And two, the secondary logo they used was actually better than their primary, which may have attributed to the current look of their main logo.
All in all the original Coyotes jerseys were just too busy to be taken seriously. I like what they've got now for the exact opposite reasons. They now look like a serious franchise and a dignified team capable of winning the Stanley Cup. (Or at least looking good on the ice.) Which, with all of the problems Phoenix has had over the years is at least something to be proud of.
Third jerseys for the future? Absolutely no idea, would be kind of nice to see them use that light-tan color in the logo as a main color, since no one else ever has. (Dallas almost did, but that idea was shelved after the first replicas went on sale.)
San Jose SharksThe first third jersey for the Sharks came out in 1997, and it would become the teams main jersey style the following season with the addition of a white version. Compared to the original Sharks jerseys these were pretty farfetched, however when they became the standard ones they worked well for the team. They added a bit more personality to their look and gave them a bit more of an aquatic and shark-like feel. The team would go 5 years before adding another third jersey to their uniform set, and it would be...you guessed it....black.
Not only was it black, it was nearly entirely black. The striping was bare minimum with just two bands on each sleeve, and the only other color was in the shoulder patches. The thing is, they looked really good on the ice. Especially with the black pants and helmet. (They even had black socks, and more than likely most players had black skates.) Yes, everyone has a black jersey, but these Sharks looked
really black, and that in itself was something different.
Of course now everything has changed, the team has updated their logo for the first time, introduced a new alternate logo for the shoulders, added orange to their colors and brought out a much more conventional looking jersey this season. The likes of which San Jose hasn't had in 10 years. There are many nay sayers out there, but I think the team actually deserves some credit for not only coming up with a nice streamlined look but also one that looks back at the traditional hockey sweater instead of looking for the next gimmick. They could of course do whatever for a third jersey now, hopefully not anything too over the top and hopefully not anything too orange. But, I imagine that when we do see alternate jerseys again the Sharks will be one of the first to bring one out. (Or one of the last, as the case with the Edge jerseys was.)
ConclusionWell, that covers all 30 teams, now only time will tell what becomes of the whole third jersey idea. Perhaps we will never see them again, maybe they'll be back next year, maybe in 2009. Maybe everyone will have one, maybe just a few teams. Instead of new jerseys we may just see vintage ones, or maybe they'll be no heritage or vintage jerseys whatsoever. Only Reebok and the NHL know at this point.
All I can truly say is, I hope that they return in a civilized manner and not one entirely focused on easy money and a cheap show.
Labels: Jerseys, Rbk Edge
Hockey players are a different breed and listening to them talk about the game, their hometown and their lives is always entertaining. There are a number of sites on-line that feature these audio files (and in some cases video) and I'd recommend checking them out if you have an interest in getting beyond just the name and stats of player's past and present.
The NHL has not even discussed it, but the dream machine is in full swing.
