It's Playoff Time!
/The 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs are about the get underway. But before they do, I thought we could talk logos and jerseys. The NHL playoff logo system in use since 2013 continues for another year — with a generic version above and the team specific designs below.
What do you notice there that seems out of place? Maybe the classic gold in the Pittsburgh logo? Dreams do come true. On Monday, the Penguins announced a playoffs promotion called "Gold Rush" — in which they're bringing their classic colors front and center.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will wear their “Pittsburgh Gold” uniforms for all home games during the Stanley Cup playoffs and will distribute gold t-shirts and rally towels to create a “Gold Rush” at CONSOL Energy Center.
Now that's awesome! What's more is it appears the throwback colors won't be completely absent on the road. While teams can't get away with launching a new sweater in the postseason, the Penguins will be sporting a new decal on their helmets.
All this lends further credence to the reports that the Penguins will switch to the '80s throwbacks full time next season. Seems like they'd do it right now if they could.
So should we expect any other third jerseys in the playoffs? I haven't seen much in the way of confirmations, but the Wild and Sharks have gone with theirs in the past.
One team that is definitely shelving their third is Anaheim. Despite heavy promotion of the hashtag asking fans to #PaintItOrange, the players will be clad in black for home games.
Beyond that, the Flyers are supposedly planning to wear a special patch in memory of club founder, Ed Snider, who died Monday. I haven't seen confirmation from the team or any official design — though there is an incredible fan concept out there.
I'll update this post as we learn more about what's coming in the postseason.
UPDATE · Apr 17 · The AHL has a similar team-specific logo system for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Here are the 16 logos for the teams that qualified this year.
