I always have a good time sifting through photos of various hockey-related events, especially old historical photos. There's always great stuff to see in the photographs, and there's usually some cool stories associated with the photo. In any case, the collection of photos I have here today come from various sources and will take us back through several decades of hockey. There are some that will look at uniforms, some that have unique equipment, and others than I simply like due to their historical significance. I encourage you to take a look at the photos, and enjoy the history and hockey that is presented here today on HBIC.- We start first by looking at those New Jersey Devils retro jerseys they wore on March 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Honestly, I really like their retro jerseys, and I think that there isn't enough green in the NHL at this point in time. In comparison to the photo above, here is a picture of Martin Brodeur from 1991-92 when he broke into the league. HBIC is officially calling for more green in hockey, whether it be the old Devils' look or something new altogether.
- Something that really delighted me was this old photo of the Los Angeles Kings in their alternate jerseys. There is something endearing about that old alternate jersey despite its obvious ugliness. If you look closely on the right, Robert Lang is wearing #13, and the alternate captain is #17 Jari Kurri. Classic jerseys!
- If you look closely at the headline of the March 22, 1968 edition of The Hockey News, you'll see that two franchises were threatening to move out of the cities they were located in. Oakland, who had problems as the California Seals, would eventually move in 1976 to Cleveland after renaming themselves a couple of times. The other franchise, surprisingly, was the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers were unhappy with their agreement with the City of Philadelphia while playing in the Spectrum, and threatened to move elsewhere unless changes were made. Personally, I couldn't imagine the Flyers playing elsewhere after seeing the history they have racked up. If they had moved, we may never have had the Broad Street Bullies!
- Speaking about the California Seals, here's a look at the first jerseys worn by the Seals in the NHL. That's Bert Marshall in the photo. Compare that jersey to what they wore from 1974-76, modeled by Len Frig, and seen here in colour on Butch Williams, and I think that the first jerseys as the California Seals were the best look they had. Of course, there was this look as modeled by Carol Vadnais from 1970-74, but I believe hockey is a sport where the chest logo should be displayed prominently. Your thoughts? Which Seals jersey do you prefer?
- Something you don't see in today's NHL? Accents on players' names. That's Denis Dupéré of the Colorado Rockies. Rarely do you see one accent, let alone two. For those that don't speak French, Denis' last name would be "do-pay-ray".
- Something else you rarely see in today's game are full names on the back of jerseys. That's Don Maloney of the New York Rangers. The only other players from the modern era that I can think of that had their full names on the back of their jerseys were Rich and Ron Sutter. Anyone know of any others? And do you have pictures?
- Sports are the one place where one had better be careful what one says. If one isn't careful, one could be removing one's foot from one's mouth. Case in point? This article from the February, 27, 1976 edition of The Hockey News shows exactly how that can be done. Harold Ballard, in a Friday interview, stated that he was looking for "a sensational center" to play with wingers Lanny McDonald and Errol Thompson. That spot was occupied at the time by Leafs' great Darryl Sittler. The next night, Sittler went out and scored his famous six goals and ten points against the Boston Bruins, inadvertently showing up his boss by setting a National Hockey League record. In Sittler's defence, though, Ballard was never really a smart owner as proven by the Leafs' records through the 1970s and 1980s.
- March 6, 2010 saw the AHL's Springfield Falcons go pink in support of breast cancer research. I'm all for raising funds to help find a cure for breast cancer as it is a leading cause of death in women, but those jerseys are brutal. I understand that the team may not make any money off these jerseys, but the least they could do is make them look good for those fans who may want to bid on them in the auction process to help make as much money as they can. I'm not impressed with these jerseys at all.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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