The Best Of The New

Everyone reading this knows what a tuxedo looks like. We're all aware of the tuxedo's elegance when worn properly. For a man, it makes him look sophisticated and confident. The one thing that the tuxedo has never needed was flash and flair. The simplest of tuxedoes looks fashionable and in-style. This is what the new NHL jerseys should have been modelled after. We've seen some ugly designs from the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames. On the other side, those that have stayed simple and true have looked heads-and-shoulders above the other teams. Boston, Montreal, the New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh have all accomplished that.

Pittsburgh, you ask? Yes, the Penguins. The Penguins introduced their new jerseys today at, of all places, a mall's food court. A number of Pittsburgh citizens came out to see players such as Ryan Whitney, Maxime Talbot, and Brooks Orpik strut their stuff along the stage in their new uniforms. For once, this writer is impressed with what Pittsburgh didn't do.

The Pittsburgh Penguins unveiled these jerseys today at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. I had made mention of the Penguins' new uniforms way back on July 29th in the Clothes Make The Man article. I had shown off this image of the home jersey and this image of the road jersey that had been leaked on the Internet. I believe the leaked photos were, in fact, the real thing.

In looking at the home jersey, the Penguins didn't go off the board whatsoever. The jersey is neat and tidy, and has no stupid half-stripes, no ridiculous patches, and no horrendous piping. This is how the new NHL jerseys should look. This is a perfect example of what the new Rbk Edge jerseys should look like. The rear of the jersey is just as good-looking, and the font is identical to what was used last season.

The road jerseys are simple and clean as well. Aside from having a little too much Vegas Gold on the jerseys, there is nothing wrong with these new uniforms. The logo is the still the recognizable Skating Penguin as it should be. The rear of the road jersey is just as classy and elegant as the home jersey as well.

This writer is a huge fan of these new Penguins jerseys. If the Original Six teams were supposed to stay traditional, the Penguins stole a page out of their books. The new jersey is almost identical to last season's jersey which were bought at a staggering pace, due in part to a few kids named Crosby, Staal, Malkin, and Fleury. Thank you, Pittsburgh, for showing sanity in a somewhat-crazy time in the NHL's history. Two thumbs way up for these new uniforms.

In other news:

- please welcome Bubba as a new blog correspondant. Bubba is the writer of Canes Country, which has been added to the Hockey Blog section to the right. He's volunteered to report on the Hurricanes, and I am more than happy to have him as a colleague! Welcome, Bubba, and I recommend you all stop by his blog to get your Carolina Hurricanes updates!

- the AHL has taken a different approach to the jersey unveilings than their richer affiliate in the NHL. The AHL has set up a page where you can view all the Rbk Edge AHL Uniforms at once, rather than looking for cryptic clues as to when your favorite AHL team will be unveiling their new duds. Ok, there are two pages, but you can see any AHL team's new uniforms in one convenient place. Good job, AHL! This is yet another reason where the NHL should be following the AHL's lead.

- Canada handed out a thorough beating last night to the Russians, hammering them in Game Five by a score of 8-1. Game Six ended up a little better, but the Canadians now lead ther series 6-0 after defeating the Russians 4-1. The highlight for the Russians tonight is that they played much better than the night before, and Semen Varlamov had a pretty good game in net. Game Seven goes Friday night in Red Deer, Alberta where the arena is already sold out. It should be another beauty game!

After Carolina unveils their jerseys tomorrow, I will try to give a recap on all of them. The problem is that there seems to be an unveiling everyday. I'll try to put one together by this weekend at the latest. Good job today, Penguins. I'll enjoy watching you next season.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!