Madferret
11-18-05, 12:56 PM
Onrait: Extreme makeover - NHL edition
TSN.ca Staff
Once again the NHL must follow the lead of its unofficial older, more successful brother the NBA. It's time to adopt the dress code. No, not THAT dress code - the dress code adopted on the court.
I'm talking about the NBA's typically cutting edge initiative to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the merger between the NBA and ABA by having some teams (like Miami and Chicago and Memphis) wear the uniforms of the extinct ABA franchises in their cities, while others (like the Clippers) continue the throwback trend by wearing the jersey of the city where their franchise originated (Buffalo).
It's complete genius. Appealing to the nostalgia of the basketball fan that was around to see those franchises in the ABA as well as basketball fans in cities that no longer have a team and may not even realize they once had one! Imagine the sense of pride Western New York residents feel putting on replicas of that Buffalo Braves jersey the Clippers will wear this season! Buffalo residents take verbal abuse from so many other American (and Canadian) cities; they need more to be proud of.
The NBA happily appeals to fans of pure nostalgia, and they're happier to be able to cash in on what seems to be the world's first never-ending fashion craze: Throwback uniforms. Sure they appeal to older sports fans that remember the classic on-court wear, but the people who will actually take money out of their wallet and BUY them are the younger fans who simply appreciate how great these uniforms look.
And that's why the NHL finds itself a step behind their NBA brethren again. Oh sure, they've got a few great throwback uniforms. Montreal, Toronto, the Rangers. Basically any Original 6 team. But just because a team wasn't "Original 6" doesn't mean it can't celebrate its own history.
For third jerseys, the NHL has usually gone for redesigned "alternates" instead. They could have it so much better (good album by the way) if they honored the league's past while appealing to its younger fans in the present by dipping into the days of way back!
For arguments sake, I'm going to do the league's work for them and propose a step-by-step makeover for the look of all the Canadian teams. Getting into U.S.-based teams would be another article altogether, and depending on the response to this article we'll see if we can tackle that at some point.
THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Has there ever been an NHL team with a worse uniform history than the Canucks? They pretty much seemed to get it right the first time, only to try the first in a series of horrible "updates" in the 80's and 90's. What kind of team adopts "grainy mustard yellow" as its primary colour in the late seventies? This team, that's who. The "V" uniforms almost went down as the worst of all time (for the worst of all time, keep reading). The "skate" logo uniforms (similar colour scheme, significantly better look) hold some nostalgia for fans my age, that's for sure. Then there's the current primary logo, essentially created not to represent an animal indigenous to the region but to celebrate the company that owned the team at the time.
I remember clearly seeing that Orca logo for the first time; it was one of the very first "internet leaks" (almost, but not quite as significant as last week when Kevin Federline's first single, "Ya'll Ain't Ready" from his upcoming rap album leaked onto the internet. Words can't describe how much I enjoy this song. He's like Vanilla Ice without the talent)
I couldn't believe the Orca logo was what the Canucks were going with. It was like a doodle done by the best "drawer" in your Grade 8 art class: "Cool man! Have the Orca busting out of the 'C', but in doing that, it will create another 'C'! Awesome!"
I know a lot of Canucks fans, and I hear them talk a lot about how great their city is (true) but I also don't hear them bragging about how cool their teams uniforms look. Since the Canucks haven't been to the final in these uniforms, let's erase them from memory and pretend they never happened.
Therefore:
PRIMARY HOME UNIFORM: Original Blue "Hockey Stick Logo" Uniforms (1970-78 ) You can't go wrong with this. They have already been incredibly successful as an updated third uniform. THIS is the uniform that not only appeals to fans of throwbacks, but actually represents the history of the franchise itself. Not to mention the colours are unique league-wide (thanks to the fact that Hartford is no longer in the league)
PRIMARY ROAD UNIFORM: Original White "Hockey Stick Logo" Uniforms (See above)
THROWBACKS: I propose the black "skate logo" uniform (introduced in 1985) as the primary throwback uniform. The reason? Vancouver's two Cup appearances, their greatest source of pride for their fans, appeared in the "V" uni in 1982 (you can only take nostalgia so far) and the skate uni in 1994. I don't think I'm stretching to say Canucks fans would prefer the latter.
THE CALGARY FLAMES
Give them credit for sticking with the same, simple, classic logo. Take away credit for falling for the Black uniform craze.
Calgary's problems are few and easily fixable. Their current uni isn't bad, but I would simply take the black out of the colour scheme. There's something Wayne Gretzky did so effectively when he came on board with Phoenix and insisted the team re-design their horrific threads, he oversaw a very simple design: Basic logo on the front, basic stripes on the side, and two basic colours. Whether you like the colours or the logo, the uni is very effective because it nearly achieves that throwback look without being a throwback.
Calgary's current uni's are just too busy, scale them down a bit. Red, Yellow, White. Three colours are plenty.
PRIMARY HOME UNIFORM: A slightly redesigned version of their current one that loses the horse-head logo on the shoulder (didn't hear anyone screaming for that) and also loses the black. Home uniform in Red.
PRIMARY ROAD UNIFORM: In white.
THROWBACKS: First, dump the horse head alternates in the Bow River.
Two obvious ones: An Atlanta Flames throwback. Maybe even a home and away. Nice way to honour the history of the franchise.
Even better: a true classic throwback to the team's original CALGARY FLAMES jersey (1980-1994). To be worn during every single Battle Of Alberta. But reversed so that they wear the white at home, red in whatever they're playing at Rexall Place, home of...
THE EDMONTON OILERS
They should pretty much follow the Calgary Model: Original Blue, Orange, and White home and away throwbacks during all games with Calgary. What a great feeling it will give fans in both cities to remember the classic Battles and witness new Battles in the threads that started it all.
For the primaries, I can live with them the way they are, maybe a few too many colours for my liking (I'm a strict fan of the two or three colour rule) but overall a decent update of the original.
If you add the original Oiler jerseys as the throwbacks, what's the fate of their current third jerseys? They're a simple enough design and I even like the logo that one of the 4996 Oiler owners Todd McFarlane created, which makes a nod to the team's history. Perhaps it IS a little "cartoony", but he "is" a cartoonist. But the Blue and "Stanley Cup Silver?" I remember MacFarlane explaining the colour scheme to Ron McLean on Hockey Night in Canada saying: "Yeah, I wanted to sort of make it like the Dallas Cowboys" Yeah, great Todd, but there's a slight problem with that theory: They're the EDMONTON OILERS. You can't just switch up the team's colours on an alternate jersey unless it's a throwback! Rules are rules!
Therefore, change "Stanley Cup Silver" to "Clarence Campbell Bowl Copper" and we can live with it.
THE OTTAWA SENATORS
This is a toughie. I like that they basically stayed with Black, Red and White through their various re-designs. They threw a little gold in here and there, not that tragic, but they haven't quite got it right have they? The swooping stripe through the logo on their red jerseys screams "I ran out of ideas" and the original is a bit of a bore. Keeping the newest black one with the detailed striping on the bottom and along the sleeves seems like the best bet.
Maybe they should let someone have another crack at the logo and go for a total re-design. Keep it simple. Maybe the template should be the black, white and red classics of the uniforms often cited among the best in the league: The Chicago Blackhawks. Nothing wrong with copping a classic. Better than copping crap.
For the throwbacks, how about the 1930-31 uniforms of the original Ottawa Senators? Tons of stripes! In other words, like the Ottawa 67's uniforms, which were likely modeled after the original Sens unis, which means I'm talking in circles.
One jersey that should never be resurrected? One with the "Parliament Building" logo first introduced when the Sens came back into the league.
Truthfully, this team is so good they could wear those Might Duck uniforms with "Wild Wing" on the front (yes, THOSE were the single worst NHL uniforms of all time) and they would be forgiven. Can anything but injuries stop this team? It's a pre-lockout team in a post-lockout world. No pressure Ottawa fans, but there is no way this team shouldn't win the Cup this year. Which would of course be the worst nightmare for fans of...
THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
...but Leaf fans are used to disappointment, which is why they must be
pleasantly surprised at The Buds current Duds. Cool throwbacks and kinda boring but still all right primaries. Here's how I would switch it up slightly:
PRIMARY HOME UNIFORM: Would be a Blue version of the throwback they currently wear (a great version of such a uniform appeared in the 1991-92 season), making the White throwback their PRIMARY ROAD UNIFORM. It's a better look than their primary uniforms now, and it would give them a chance to make the 1970 to 1992 jersey their primary THROWBACK, in blue AND white for maximum sales potential, with a tie-up on the neck to make it appear as it did when the uniform was first introduced in 1970.
Were there a ton of Stanley Cup wins for the Leafs in these uniforms?
Actually, there were none. But for Leaf fans, there are some great memories of players who wore these uniforms (Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, Mike Palmateer, Tiger Williams). For fans my age, right in that desirable 25 to 46 demo, THIS is the uniform they remember growing up, and this is the uniform they will buy by the truckload. You could also not only keep but also wear the Toronto St. Pats uniform a little more, nothing wrong with that.
And finally...
THE MONTREAL CANADIENS
Love 'em or hate 'em, those uniforms are not just among the most recognizable hockey uniforms in the world, they among the most recognized uniforms...period. Habs fans were right to go ballistic when the team announced a few years ago that they were going to go for an actual newly designed "alternate" jersey instead of the throwbacks that they adopted from the 1944 to 1947 that fit seamlessly into their look. Keep things the way they are. Maybe you could add another throwback alternate like the one from 1924-25 with the "CH" logo on the sleeves.
Everyone has a different opinion about hockey uniforms (though I think everyone agrees that Cooperalls were a bad idea for the Whalers and Flyers), but if the league wants to continue to try and distract fans from the mess that was the lockout, not to mention sell a ton more merchandise, embracing its finer moments from the past would be a good way to do it.
By the way, SportsCentre anchors do not wear jerseys; they wear Coppley suits. Because they gets them for free. Not that they're complaining.
In fact, they're great suits. Getting them for free really adds to the look.
You can complain about not getting free clothing to jonrait@tsn.ca.
http://tsn.ca/images/stories/20051117/unis_49710.jpg
Favorite jerseys?
Worst jerseys?
Interesting read, I'd love to see the Sens wear the old Barber Poles again in 'throwback jersey' games or something along those lines.
TSN.ca Staff
Once again the NHL must follow the lead of its unofficial older, more successful brother the NBA. It's time to adopt the dress code. No, not THAT dress code - the dress code adopted on the court.
I'm talking about the NBA's typically cutting edge initiative to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the merger between the NBA and ABA by having some teams (like Miami and Chicago and Memphis) wear the uniforms of the extinct ABA franchises in their cities, while others (like the Clippers) continue the throwback trend by wearing the jersey of the city where their franchise originated (Buffalo).
It's complete genius. Appealing to the nostalgia of the basketball fan that was around to see those franchises in the ABA as well as basketball fans in cities that no longer have a team and may not even realize they once had one! Imagine the sense of pride Western New York residents feel putting on replicas of that Buffalo Braves jersey the Clippers will wear this season! Buffalo residents take verbal abuse from so many other American (and Canadian) cities; they need more to be proud of.
The NBA happily appeals to fans of pure nostalgia, and they're happier to be able to cash in on what seems to be the world's first never-ending fashion craze: Throwback uniforms. Sure they appeal to older sports fans that remember the classic on-court wear, but the people who will actually take money out of their wallet and BUY them are the younger fans who simply appreciate how great these uniforms look.
And that's why the NHL finds itself a step behind their NBA brethren again. Oh sure, they've got a few great throwback uniforms. Montreal, Toronto, the Rangers. Basically any Original 6 team. But just because a team wasn't "Original 6" doesn't mean it can't celebrate its own history.
For third jerseys, the NHL has usually gone for redesigned "alternates" instead. They could have it so much better (good album by the way) if they honored the league's past while appealing to its younger fans in the present by dipping into the days of way back!
For arguments sake, I'm going to do the league's work for them and propose a step-by-step makeover for the look of all the Canadian teams. Getting into U.S.-based teams would be another article altogether, and depending on the response to this article we'll see if we can tackle that at some point.
THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Has there ever been an NHL team with a worse uniform history than the Canucks? They pretty much seemed to get it right the first time, only to try the first in a series of horrible "updates" in the 80's and 90's. What kind of team adopts "grainy mustard yellow" as its primary colour in the late seventies? This team, that's who. The "V" uniforms almost went down as the worst of all time (for the worst of all time, keep reading). The "skate" logo uniforms (similar colour scheme, significantly better look) hold some nostalgia for fans my age, that's for sure. Then there's the current primary logo, essentially created not to represent an animal indigenous to the region but to celebrate the company that owned the team at the time.
I remember clearly seeing that Orca logo for the first time; it was one of the very first "internet leaks" (almost, but not quite as significant as last week when Kevin Federline's first single, "Ya'll Ain't Ready" from his upcoming rap album leaked onto the internet. Words can't describe how much I enjoy this song. He's like Vanilla Ice without the talent)
I couldn't believe the Orca logo was what the Canucks were going with. It was like a doodle done by the best "drawer" in your Grade 8 art class: "Cool man! Have the Orca busting out of the 'C', but in doing that, it will create another 'C'! Awesome!"
I know a lot of Canucks fans, and I hear them talk a lot about how great their city is (true) but I also don't hear them bragging about how cool their teams uniforms look. Since the Canucks haven't been to the final in these uniforms, let's erase them from memory and pretend they never happened.
Therefore:
PRIMARY HOME UNIFORM: Original Blue "Hockey Stick Logo" Uniforms (1970-78 ) You can't go wrong with this. They have already been incredibly successful as an updated third uniform. THIS is the uniform that not only appeals to fans of throwbacks, but actually represents the history of the franchise itself. Not to mention the colours are unique league-wide (thanks to the fact that Hartford is no longer in the league)
PRIMARY ROAD UNIFORM: Original White "Hockey Stick Logo" Uniforms (See above)
THROWBACKS: I propose the black "skate logo" uniform (introduced in 1985) as the primary throwback uniform. The reason? Vancouver's two Cup appearances, their greatest source of pride for their fans, appeared in the "V" uni in 1982 (you can only take nostalgia so far) and the skate uni in 1994. I don't think I'm stretching to say Canucks fans would prefer the latter.
THE CALGARY FLAMES
Give them credit for sticking with the same, simple, classic logo. Take away credit for falling for the Black uniform craze.
Calgary's problems are few and easily fixable. Their current uni isn't bad, but I would simply take the black out of the colour scheme. There's something Wayne Gretzky did so effectively when he came on board with Phoenix and insisted the team re-design their horrific threads, he oversaw a very simple design: Basic logo on the front, basic stripes on the side, and two basic colours. Whether you like the colours or the logo, the uni is very effective because it nearly achieves that throwback look without being a throwback.
Calgary's current uni's are just too busy, scale them down a bit. Red, Yellow, White. Three colours are plenty.
PRIMARY HOME UNIFORM: A slightly redesigned version of their current one that loses the horse-head logo on the shoulder (didn't hear anyone screaming for that) and also loses the black. Home uniform in Red.
PRIMARY ROAD UNIFORM: In white.
THROWBACKS: First, dump the horse head alternates in the Bow River.
Two obvious ones: An Atlanta Flames throwback. Maybe even a home and away. Nice way to honour the history of the franchise.
Even better: a true classic throwback to the team's original CALGARY FLAMES jersey (1980-1994). To be worn during every single Battle Of Alberta. But reversed so that they wear the white at home, red in whatever they're playing at Rexall Place, home of...
THE EDMONTON OILERS
They should pretty much follow the Calgary Model: Original Blue, Orange, and White home and away throwbacks during all games with Calgary. What a great feeling it will give fans in both cities to remember the classic Battles and witness new Battles in the threads that started it all.
For the primaries, I can live with them the way they are, maybe a few too many colours for my liking (I'm a strict fan of the two or three colour rule) but overall a decent update of the original.
If you add the original Oiler jerseys as the throwbacks, what's the fate of their current third jerseys? They're a simple enough design and I even like the logo that one of the 4996 Oiler owners Todd McFarlane created, which makes a nod to the team's history. Perhaps it IS a little "cartoony", but he "is" a cartoonist. But the Blue and "Stanley Cup Silver?" I remember MacFarlane explaining the colour scheme to Ron McLean on Hockey Night in Canada saying: "Yeah, I wanted to sort of make it like the Dallas Cowboys" Yeah, great Todd, but there's a slight problem with that theory: They're the EDMONTON OILERS. You can't just switch up the team's colours on an alternate jersey unless it's a throwback! Rules are rules!
Therefore, change "Stanley Cup Silver" to "Clarence Campbell Bowl Copper" and we can live with it.
THE OTTAWA SENATORS
This is a toughie. I like that they basically stayed with Black, Red and White through their various re-designs. They threw a little gold in here and there, not that tragic, but they haven't quite got it right have they? The swooping stripe through the logo on their red jerseys screams "I ran out of ideas" and the original is a bit of a bore. Keeping the newest black one with the detailed striping on the bottom and along the sleeves seems like the best bet.
Maybe they should let someone have another crack at the logo and go for a total re-design. Keep it simple. Maybe the template should be the black, white and red classics of the uniforms often cited among the best in the league: The Chicago Blackhawks. Nothing wrong with copping a classic. Better than copping crap.
For the throwbacks, how about the 1930-31 uniforms of the original Ottawa Senators? Tons of stripes! In other words, like the Ottawa 67's uniforms, which were likely modeled after the original Sens unis, which means I'm talking in circles.
One jersey that should never be resurrected? One with the "Parliament Building" logo first introduced when the Sens came back into the league.
Truthfully, this team is so good they could wear those Might Duck uniforms with "Wild Wing" on the front (yes, THOSE were the single worst NHL uniforms of all time) and they would be forgiven. Can anything but injuries stop this team? It's a pre-lockout team in a post-lockout world. No pressure Ottawa fans, but there is no way this team shouldn't win the Cup this year. Which would of course be the worst nightmare for fans of...
THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
...but Leaf fans are used to disappointment, which is why they must be
pleasantly surprised at The Buds current Duds. Cool throwbacks and kinda boring but still all right primaries. Here's how I would switch it up slightly:
PRIMARY HOME UNIFORM: Would be a Blue version of the throwback they currently wear (a great version of such a uniform appeared in the 1991-92 season), making the White throwback their PRIMARY ROAD UNIFORM. It's a better look than their primary uniforms now, and it would give them a chance to make the 1970 to 1992 jersey their primary THROWBACK, in blue AND white for maximum sales potential, with a tie-up on the neck to make it appear as it did when the uniform was first introduced in 1970.
Were there a ton of Stanley Cup wins for the Leafs in these uniforms?
Actually, there were none. But for Leaf fans, there are some great memories of players who wore these uniforms (Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, Mike Palmateer, Tiger Williams). For fans my age, right in that desirable 25 to 46 demo, THIS is the uniform they remember growing up, and this is the uniform they will buy by the truckload. You could also not only keep but also wear the Toronto St. Pats uniform a little more, nothing wrong with that.
And finally...
THE MONTREAL CANADIENS
Love 'em or hate 'em, those uniforms are not just among the most recognizable hockey uniforms in the world, they among the most recognized uniforms...period. Habs fans were right to go ballistic when the team announced a few years ago that they were going to go for an actual newly designed "alternate" jersey instead of the throwbacks that they adopted from the 1944 to 1947 that fit seamlessly into their look. Keep things the way they are. Maybe you could add another throwback alternate like the one from 1924-25 with the "CH" logo on the sleeves.
Everyone has a different opinion about hockey uniforms (though I think everyone agrees that Cooperalls were a bad idea for the Whalers and Flyers), but if the league wants to continue to try and distract fans from the mess that was the lockout, not to mention sell a ton more merchandise, embracing its finer moments from the past would be a good way to do it.
By the way, SportsCentre anchors do not wear jerseys; they wear Coppley suits. Because they gets them for free. Not that they're complaining.
In fact, they're great suits. Getting them for free really adds to the look.
You can complain about not getting free clothing to jonrait@tsn.ca.
http://tsn.ca/images/stories/20051117/unis_49710.jpg
Favorite jerseys?
Worst jerseys?
Interesting read, I'd love to see the Sens wear the old Barber Poles again in 'throwback jersey' games or something along those lines.