Bunch Of Idiots

You probably heard reports that there will be no alternate jerseys next season with adidas taking over the NHL jersey contract. This shouldn't surprise anyone as Reebok did the same thing a decade earlier before allowing alternate jerseys to creep back into the NHL picture one year later. What bothers me, though, is how one company - adidas - who owns the current manufacturer - Reebok - can't seem to get a handle on this uniform stuff so that there are no snafus in the manufacturing process. The contract that adidas signed to become the manufacturer was agreed to in 2015, more than a full calendar year prior to their three-striped logo appearing on the jerseys. How is it that a major sports apparel company like adidas can't get their act together and make this transfer from a subsidiary company to itself seamless?

I just can't fathom how this works. Adidas owns Reebok who has all the templates and jerseys at their fingertips. While I realize that there might be a few tweaks or adjustments made, how is it that adidas can't meet every jersey specification after knowing they'd be making jerseys since 2015?

Exactly, Mark Wahlberg. I'm a little confused by this sequence of events as well, especially after adidas was 100% responsible for the World Cup of Hockey jerseys. All they literally have to do is change the "Reebok" word mark on the rear of the neck to the three stripes. It honestly wouldn't be that hard. Maybe I'm just reducing this too much?

There was also an announcement that the New Jersey Devils would be getting a makeover next season. Personally, I'd love to see them go back to the red and green, but that's probably not going to happen. I'd like to see no additional black add to the Devils' look. If they add a completely black jersey, heads will roll. I mean, Lou Lamoriello has been gone for less than a year and the Devils are changing their look. For a team that was known to shun alternate jerseys and prevent players from wearing numbers above 35, the changing of the guard is ushering in all sorts of new ideas.

Look, the change to Reebok from CCM took a few iterations to get things to where they are today. Adidas would be wise to follow the old saying of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Players and fans seem to be content with the jerseys today, so just make the change to the manufacturer's mark and move on. Redesigning the wheel is an unnecessary step at this point, and adidas should have learned from Reebok's mistakes.

Change for the sake of change never works.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!