Rbk EDGE Review: Lightning
/Part 5 of 30. All 30 NHL clubs have unveiled new jerseys under the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System for the 2007-08 season. Here at the NHLToL, we're going to review every one of them. Read up and then rate the new sweaters. We'll do a full ranking after completing all of the reviews.
The Unveiling
Saturday, August 25. The Lightning unveiled their new uniforms to fans at ICEfest held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. Among those players in attendance were Chris Gratton, Filip Kuba, Johan Holmqvist and Marty St. Louis donning their new jerseys.
Home vs. Road
Home: Black. Road: White. The two sweaters are essentially mirror images of each other in terms of overall design and both feature secondary logo patches on each shoulder.
The black home jerseys feature white cuffs with thin blue piping at the wrist. A blue stripe around the arm rounds up on the inside to the armpit. The collar is blue and the primary logo serves as the crest.
The white road jerseys feature black cuffs with thin blue piping at the wrist. A blue stripe around the arm rounds up on the inside to the armpit. The collar is blue and the primary logo serves as the crest.
In The Details
The same shoulder patches featuring the secondary logo are found on both shoulders of each sweater. The block style numbering and lettering have been retained. The white sweaters feature the jersey number on the front right shoulder. The black ones do not. The unique thin stripes found under the armpit have been carried over from the old style jersey. Another noticeable change was to the pants where the lightning bolt now sits on a blue stripe.
New & Old
The Lightning were one of seven teams to introduce new logos. Aside from that, the overall jersey designs saw drastic changes. The shoulder yokes found on both sweaters are now gone, making the jersey a solid color throughout. In addition, the horizontal stripes at the waist are gone and the sleeve stripes have been greatly altered.
Standard FAQ
Numbers on the front? Yes.
Laces at the collar? No.
UPDATE (10/5 2:01 AM): Originally, the Lightning were only going to be wearing the number on the front of the white jerseys. Apparently that's changed as they wore the numbers on the front of the black jersey in the regular season opener. So the information here has been changed to reflect that both jerseys now have numbers on the front.
NHLToL Editorial by Chris
I should first say that with the Lightning being my favorite team, I may come off as biased. But this is the opinion area after all. As a Lightning fan, I've always thought our uniforms were dull and second rate. I can now proudly say we've taken a huge leap forward. I don't know if I can honestly say I believe the new sweater stands up to the likes of some of the others, but I'm very impressed. My favorite aspects include the increase in the use of blue in the uniform and the removal of the shoulder yokes. A fact worth noting that I own a black Rbk EDGE premier jersey and I love it. 4/5
