More New Jerseys

Like the image to the left, I'm hear to speak about more new jerseys. Get it? New Jersey? New jersey? Ok, bad joke. In any case, there were the debuts of new jerseys this week from Boston, Washington, and Columbus. Boston and Washington incorporated the traditional looks of their respective franchises into the new Rbk Edge Uniform System, while Columbus simplified their jerseys. The overall look of these jerseys is highly-pleasing, and this bodes well for the other 27 NHL franchises as well as the 29 AHL franchises. The Quad Cities Flames jerseys were also seen earlier this week, and they boast a clean and simple jersey. Again, a thumbs-up from this writer. Also decided this week was which jersey would be worn at home. The NHL Board of Governors chose to stick with the status quo in keeping the dark jerseys at home. That disappoints me as everyone knows that good guys wear white, and we all cheer for the home team, right? In any case, in order to introduce some more new jerseys, I'll do another complete run-down here of all the new jerseys thus far... just so you don't have to read back in case you missed anything.

The first new jerseys that were made available to my eyes were those of the Quad Cities Flames. The home jerseys look a lot like the current Calgary Flames' jerseys, and I think this is a suitable jersey to keep. I wasn't a fan of the Flaming Horse Head jersey at all, and it was eerily similar to another terrible Flaming Horse logo. Following in the home jerseys' footsteps, the road jersey is designed the same, and both get a big thumbs-up from me. If Calgary follows their AHL affiliate's design, the Flames will look good from a jersey perspective. Too bad their team is heading down the wrong way on a one-way street.

The next team to unveil their new duds was the Boston Bruins. The Bruins made a change to their logo, changing from their old logo by adding serifs to the spoked "B". I have a feeling that Providence will be following suit as well. The Bruins also showed off their new jerseys on Thursday. The home jerseys look far more traditional than their old ones did, and the road jerseys now have those same traditional elements such as the lace-up neckline. The secondary logo of the Bruins has two looks: the home patch and the road patch. They can be seen here on the home jersey and the road jersey. These jerseys are sharp. If anything, the Bruins improved their current jerseys with these new ones.

On Friday, the Washington Capitals had a ridiculous online press conference and fashion show for their new jerseys. The Capitals went back to the future with their new logo, literally updating their original logo. They also incorporated their eagle logo and their Capitol Building logo into one secondary eagle logo on their new jerseys. As for the new jerseys themselves, the home jerseys are very red. In fact, the more I look at them, the more I wish they incorporated more white and blue. The font on the back is very clear to read, and that's never a bad thing. I'm ok with the road jersey having a lot of white. It's crisp and clean in its look, and that's good. In any case, the Washington Capitals are now back to red, white, and blue. Overall, I'll say thumbs-up from me. The road jerseys make up for the blinding red home jerseys.

The Columbus Blue Jackets also showed off their new jerseys on Friday. The Jackets did make one significant error in these new jerseys: they eliminated the thick bottom hemline stripe. A thin one just doesn't have that hockey jersey feel. In any case, the font on the back remains the same. It was always easy to read, so kudos to the Jackets for not messing with a good thing. Gone are the insect logo and the CBJ logo, having been replaced with the alternate logo. The military feel of the jerseys is added to by the inclusion of the new shoulder patch. All in all, these jerseys are ok. Again, I miss the hemline stripe, but the jerseys are clean and simple which makes them alright in my books.

EA Sports went a little overboard and may have shown off the new Carolina Hurricanes jerseys for next season. However, after spending some time on the EA Sports NHL 08 website, it appears that all of the players are wearing last season's jerseys. If you haven't heard yet, Minnesota is scrapping their green home uniform and sticking with their red alternate jersey as their current home jersey. However, several EA Sports screenshots are still showing the Wild in green: Gaborik making a move, Gaborik taking down Witt, and Fernandez looking for the puck. Either way, those could be Carolina's new jerseys for this season. Note the Islanders. They're also wearing last season's jerseys. You'll see more below.

The Los Angeles Kings had their jerseys leaked as well. The Kings' home jersey is missing the bottom hemline again, leaving the words "Los Angeles" floating on the bottom of the jersey. The arm stripes seem a little off to me too. The road jersey is afflicted with the same problems. If this is truly Los Angeles' new jerseys for next season, they are the bottom of the barrel so far. I don't mind the colour scheme, but the jerseys leave something to be desired.

The New York Islanders also had a picture published of what could be their new jerseys for next season. It appears that the Islanders are following the lead of the Barney Rubble Hairpieces. Why, you ask? Numbers on the front of the jersey. The lace-up neckline is a great addition, though, so I endorse that. The four-stripe shoulder patch for the four Stanley Cups that the Islanders won remains intact, and that's also a plus. The thin hemline stripe hurts the overall aesthetic, and there is far too much orange under the arms, much like this uniform debacle.

I'm going on record right here. If the Islanders wear these jerseys next season, they will be forever called the "Long Island Broncos" much in the similar way I refer to the Buffalo Sabres as the Barney Rubble Hairpieces. It's not a very good jersey because of the glaring orangeness, the missing hemline stripe, and the front jersey numbers. The shoulder patch, the lace-up neckline, and the logo are still good, though, and those redeeming qualities certainly deserve merit. The best part of the picture is that #79 won't be playing for the Islanders, and that has to make everyone happy. All in all, these jerseys rank just above the Kings... which isn't a good thing.

Those are all the jerseys so far. The Panthers posted a teaser on their website indicating that they'll have their new jersey unveiling in September. Other teams haven't posted a notice yet. So until the next unveiling, keep your sticks on the ice!