A Glaring Omission

I forgot to post this the other day. The new Rbk EDGE uniform system is coming to a rink near you this summer as all NHL and AHL teams will be wearing the new uniforms. Despite the eyesores that the All-Star jerseys were, I suspect the new NHL jerseys will be somewhat better, although you can be sure that a fourth installment of "You're Wearing That?" will feature the new NHL and AHL jerseys.

In any case, I forgot to post this little piece of info the other day.

"ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals will unveil their new uniforms at a special Draft Day Party on Friday, June 22, held at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. The event will be held in conjunction with the live broadcast on Versus of the first round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, which takes place that evening in Columbus, Ohio.

The new uniforms will mark a return to a red, white and blue color scheme – the colors the Capitals wore from their first season in 1974-75 through 1994-95. The Capitals are the first team in the NHL to announce their plans to unveil their new uniforms, which are produced by Reebok and feature the Rbk EDGE Uniform System technology that was introduced at the 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas. The Capitals are the first team planning to have their new uniforms on hand at the NHL Entry Draft.

Further details about the event will be announced in the coming weeks."

No further details have been posted yet, but the Washington Capitals' website is making this into a huge show. Their splash page even has "The Unveiling 6.22.07" on it. I'm assuming that Ted Leonsis, who was never very fond of the current Capitals jersey and colour scheme, has had his hand in the redesign as well.

All I know is that this release should be very interesting. If the Capitals' new jerseys look as ridiculous as the All-Star Game jerseys did, it will be a crime. However, if the new jerseys recapture that red, white, and blue essence of the old jerseys, I will be very happy.

After spending some time on various Washington Capitals message boards, it appears that the fans are split on bringing back the red, white, and blue. Most really want them to ditch the black jersey, but some want the Capitals to go back to the blue jersey (great idea, if you ask me). It appears that with the press release above that the Capitals will officially return to the old colours. It is official, though: Caps fans hate the black uniform. What do you think? Hit me with your thoughts in the comment section.

All I know is that the Minnesota Wild are going to be using their current alternate red uniforms as their home uniform next season. The prevailing rumour out of Edmonton is that the current alternate jersey with the dark blue and silver has a good chance as sticking around as Edmonton's home jersey. It is consistently in the top-selling merchandise, so it makes sense to keep it. I'd like to see Vancouver's alternate jersey stick around as their home jersey. I love the blue and green colour scheme, and I am a huge fan of Luongo's alternate look (sorry, Canucks fans, about the pic, but it shows his awesome pads too). I'd really appreciate the Bruins keeping their alternate as their home uniform. All this is, of course, speculation, with the exception of Minnesota, but good jerseys should live forever. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!