NHL JerseyWatch 2010
/October Edition The seventh update to JerseyWatch 2010 is the final part of the 2010 Icethetics Season Preview. It contains everything you need to know relating to new NHL jerseys set to debut in the 2010-11 season. Some information from Reebok is based on planning documents sent to retailers in the spring and is subject to change. Teams are listed alphabetically.
Anaheim Ducks
New alternate jersey The Anaheim Ducks have apparently confirmed plans to launch a new third jersey for 2010-11. On June 27 at the Select-a-Seat event for season ticket holders, Ducks GM Bob Murray said the alternate uniform would be released on November 26.
Thanks to James for this information. He points out that Anaheim hosts the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks that night. He did not specify whether "released" meant the jersey would be unveiled that day or simply worn for the first time — it could be both.
Icethetics has it on good authority that the jersey will be black with the standalone "D" logo front and center on the chest. No wordmarks! The sleeve striping will be similar to that of the black jersey but with orange cuffs.
Most intriguing is the return of the classic Mighty Ducks logo inside an oval-shaped shoulder patch, recolored in orange and gold of course. In addition, the jersey features orange piping around the shoulders as well as orange, white and gold piping up and down the sides a la the Flames' jerseys.
The home and road sweaters will remain unchanged this season.
Buffalo Sabres UPDATED
New home, road & alternate jerseys The Sabres are undergoing big changes to celebrate their 40th anniversary season.
Their former third jersey — a throwback with some modern influences — will take over as the home jersey, as has long been rumored.
On Sept. 18, the Sabres officially unveiled brand road and third jerseys. As rumored, the road uniform is a white version of the new home sweater with a navy blue shoulder yoke.
The third jersey is royal blue with a vintage script that pays homage to the AHL's Buffalo Bisons, who played from 1940 to 1970. Beneath the script and set to the right side is the Sabres' 40th anniversary mark — the retro logo with 19 and 70 inside the blue circle. The design confirmed an earlier report by Icethetics.
An interesting element of this sweater is the numbers, which are vintage white with blue cross-stitching inside. The nameplate on the back will be gold with royal blue lettering.
Calgary Flames
New alternate & specialty jersey As the Flames have already announced, they will be bringing back the red retro jersey that was worn for a handful of games this season. The major difference is that it will be adapted to the Reebok Edge cut. The striping will remain unchanged.
The home and road sweaters will not change. The rumored black jersey that was previously in the works has likely either been tabled for a few years or scrapped entirely. We may never know. Unless Flames president Ken King gets chatty.
Flames players model Heritage jerseyOn August 4, the NHL announced that the Calgary Flames would host the Montreal Canadiens in the 2011 Heritage Classic, an outdoor game to be played at McMahon Stadium on February 20.
The Flames used the opportunity to unveil a specially-designed sweater for the event. It pays tribute to the Calgary Tigers, the city's original pro hockey club in the 1920s.
The deep red- and gold-striped sweaters will be worn with vintage-style beige pants and canvas-colored gloves. The Flames worked with Reebok to create the unique look.
Columbus Blue Jackets
New alternate jersey & anniversary patch The Blue Jackets have not made an official announcement, but the Columbus Dispatch confirmed earlier this month that a new third jersey is in development and will be used in the 2010-11 campaign.
This is corroborated by Reebok. According to the newspaper, a cannon will be the central feature of the crest on the new uniform. The jersey will be publicly unveiled in November 2010.
Additionally, the Blue Jackets unveiled their 10th anniversary logo on June 22. It will be worn as a patch on the front of the right shoulder of each player's sweater.
Dallas Stars
Road & alternate jerseys swapped Reebok confirms that the Stars will officially switch their road and alternate jerseys next season. Both jerseys are white. Currently, the third is a white version of the home jersey, which features DALLAS arched above the sweater number.
As of the fall, the white DALLAS jersey will become the primary road sweater. The one crested with the Stars' primary logo will become the alternate.
Los Angeles Kings
New specialty jersey Rich Hammond, a blogger affiliated with the Kings' official website, stated on April 27 that the team will don purple-and-gold throwback uniforms for at least one game, and as many as four, next season.
Specifics about the actual design of the jersey were not discussed.
Hammond said the sweater would be worn against the Vancouver Canucks and referenced their 40th anniversary. So what is the significance of the Kings in Canucks history? Vancouver played its first ever game against Los Angeles on Oct. 9 1970. The clubs will open the season together exactly 40 years to the day on Oct. 9, 2010.
To lend further credence to this rumor, the Kings gave a throwback gold-and-purple jersey to first round pick Derek Forbort at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which they hosted on June 25.
Minnesota Wild
New anniversary patch The Wild recently unveiled their new 10th anniversary logo. The team announced it will be worn as a patch on the upper right shoulder of all three jerseys throughout the season, except for their first two games which will take place in Finland.
Aside from the new patch, none of the three uniforms are expected to be changed.
Montreal Canadiens
New specialty jersey On August 4, the NHL announced that the Montreal Canadiens would face the Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium for the 2011 Heritage Classic on February 20.
At the press conference, the Canadiens unveiled the white sweater they will wear for the game. It's the same jersey "worn for home games between 1974-75 and 1995-96," according to the club's website.
It differs from their current road jersey only in the number and nameplate stylings. A traditional block text will be used and white inner-stroke on the numbers is removed. The striping is unchanged.
Nashville Predators UPDATED
No changes Planning documents that Reebok sent out to retailers this past spring indicated new home and road sweaters for the 2010-11 season. Icethetics has since learned that any plans to change the uniforms will not happen until 2011-12 at the earliest.
It's anticipated the Predators will promote their third jersey to home and add a white version of it for the road. The change would also include a simplified color scheme for the logo, meaning no more orange and gold.
The Predators will not be making any changes to their logos or uniforms this season.
New Jersey Devils
Specialty jersey returns Last season, the Devils wore a red-and-green retro sweater for one game only on St. Patrick's Day. Originally believed to be a one-time occasion, new information suggests the Devils may have plans to make it a yearly tradition.
Fire & Ice blogger Tom Gulitti reports that the Devils have been promoting "retro night" inside season ticket packages. The game is set for March 18, 2011, the day after St. Patrick's Day, when the Devils host the Washington Capitals.
The Devils have not said anything publicly about the throwback jersey returning and this would not be considered and alternate jersey. Home and road uniforms will not change.
New York Islanders
Brock Nelson gets Isles' new road jersey
New home & road jerseys On June 25, the Islanders unveiled their new road jersey to fans at a draft day party. It is a white version of the current blue third jersey. The new sweater was also given to draftees at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Trevor Gillies were on hand at the Draft Party to model the new jerseys to fans.
Additionally, the Islanders' previous third jersey will now officially be the team's home sweater.
No word yet on whether the old navy blue home jersey will be switched to alternate status or if it will go away entirely, leaving the Isles without a third uniform.
New York Rangers UPDATED
New alternate jersey Reebok verified the Rangers would wear an alternate jersey this season.
We then got our first look at it when it was leaked online via Sean Avery's official website.
The new retro-style sweater is navy blue with NEW YORK emblazoned in red, diagonal text down the front. However, it's not the typeface we're used to seeing on the Rangers. It's more of a "retro" font, similar to what the team wore in the 1930s and 40s.
In addition, there is a thick red stripe that wraps around the sleeves and bottom of the jersey, bordered in thinner vintage white stripes. The collar is vintage white with vintage white laces and the little Reebok triangle is red.
The Rangers are celebrating their 85th anniversary this season, hence the throwback look. For the record, Rangers blogger Greg Caggiano was first with the details back in March that the jersey would read New York across the chest.
The team's home and road sweaters will not change this season.
Philadelphia Flyers UPDATED
New road jersey The Flyers will don new road threads for the 2010-11 campaign.
In fact they aren't really new; the new road sweater is the retro white jersey that debuted at the 2010 Winter Classic in Boston. It was officially unveiled on Sept. 17 and Mike Richards was on hand to model it.
The Flyers have worn the jersey on at least one occasion in front of the home crowd since the outdoor game at Fenway Park. Their home and alternate jerseys will remain unchanged.
Pittsburgh Penguins
New specialty jersey In March, Reebok noted that the Penguins would ditch their powder blue thirds in favor of a new alternate uniform for 2010-11. The manufacturer did not release any details of the design.
On July 27, the NHL announced that the Pens will host the 2011 Winter Classic, making it more likely that the powder blues will stick around as an alternate uniform for one more season. This will allow them to introduce a new sweater for the outdoor game which could later replace the current thirds.
Tribune-Review beat writer Rob Rossi said in December that blue would be returning in some fashion to the new third jersey — or perhaps Winter Classic sweater. With the Winter Classic announcement came the unveiling of the retro logo the Penguins will use on New Year's Day. It indicates the club may resurrect its original sweater from 1967, powder blue with PITTSBURGH stretched diagonally down the front.
Recently, a local retailer, House O' Hockey of Monroeville, Pa., reported that the Penguins scrapped plans to replace their current third jersey and will wear the powder blues for at least one more season. This is likely due to the Winter Classic announcement.
The home and road jerseys will stay the same.
San Jose Sharks
New anniversary patch On June 22, the Sharks unveiled five new 20th anniversary logos, one of which will be used on the uniforms for the 2010-11 season.
The mark, left, will be used a patch, sewn just below the sweater number on the left sleeve. There will also be a sticker on each player's helmet.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Leafs unveil new 2010-11 sweatersNew home & road jerseys On June 14, the Maple Leafs unveiled their revamped home and road sweaters.
The changes, first reported by Howard Berger, included the addition of two stripes around the base of the jerseys and the veined leaf shoulder patches. Also, the jerseys now feature tie-up collars.
The retro alternate jersey will remain the same. However, this could be the last season for it, according to the National Post. Leafs COO Tom Anselmi says it could be ditched as early as 2011 in favor of a redesigned third jersey, based on another era in Toronto's hockey past. He says the team has been working with Reebok on changes but wouldn't give up any specifics.
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks unveil throwback sweaterNew specialty jersey On July 7, the Canucks unveiled a throwback sweater, based on their original uniform from 1970.
The white retro jersey features the vintage stick-in-rink logo on the front and classic block numbers on the back and sleeves. The sweaters shown in promotional photos do not feature nameplates but the the Canucks would need special permission from the NHL to omit them during games.
The throwback uniform is scheduled to be worn five times throughout the Canucks' 40th anniversary season, including opening night when they host the Los Angeles Kings.
Washington Capitals
New specialty jersey On July 28, the NHL held a press conference announcing that the Washington Capitals will participate in the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Caps displayed a retro logo that will be used for the outdoor game.
The club has also said it will unveil a special jersey for the outdoor game on October 2 at the Capitals Convention. Typically, teams look their past for design inspiration but no details have been made available as to what the Caps are planning.
NHL All-Star Game
On July 26, the NHL unveiled the logo for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game which will be hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on January 30. Uniform designs for the game were not released and are expected at a later date.
This information is subject to change. This post may be updated throughout the season. By the way, the Senators and Bruins were removed in this edition as we had only unconfirmed speculation to go on.