Five Years And Five Jerseys

There have been moments in the NHL history where teams are forced into uniform changes or decide to make uniform changes in quick fashion. We saw the New York Islanders' Fisherman jersey retired quickly, and the Buffalo Sabres' Buffa-Slug jerseys disappeared in less than five years. I mention five years because next season will be the fifth season of play for the Vegas Golden Knights, and it would appear that that the Golden Knights will introduce a fifth jersey in their fifth year since being founded. If this seems a little a ridiculous, you're not the only person thinking that.

According to Bill Foley, the owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, he told Vegas Hockey Hotline on Sin Bin Vegas on Friday that the Golden Knights are getting a new uniform. If you click the link above and scroll to the 20:30 mark, Bill Foley says,

"I don't have one handy. We sent it back to have a couple of modifications. It's a good one. You're gonna like it."

The hosts of Vegas Hockey Hotline press him for a few more details, but Foley doesn't spill the beans any further as the two hosts banter back and forth. Brian Blessing asks when the team will be switching the gold from alternate status to main home jersey, and Foley says, "I believe gold is a better jersey. We're the 'Golden Knights' having the gold jerseys" followed by "I wouldn't be surprised you see us kind of matriculate to more gold next year than gray, and then the gray becomes... wear it ten times a year".

In other words, it sounds like the Vegas Golden Knights are going to don their metallic gold jerseys much more often next season if Bill Foley gets his way. And it's likely that he will. That will relegate the gray jersey to alternate jersey status with the white remaining as the road jersey. The red Reverse Retro jersey that Reebok forced upon the Golden Knights sounds like it's been mothballed moving forward, so it's a little strange, to me, to see the Golden Knights adding a fourth jersey to their uniform set next season, and their fifth jersey in five years of play in the NHL.

The segment right after the uniform piece made me chuckle because Foley doesn't like his own team wearing the shiny gold helmets, and he seems to be even more bothered in seeing the Los Angeles Kings wearing their shiny silver helmets. If Foley wasn't involved in greenlighting the helmets that his own team wears which he dislikes, it says a lot about who may be involved in making decisions as to what some NHL teams wear. Bill Foley seems to not be involved.

There was also chatter earlier in the recording of a potential Winter Classic or Stadium Series game in Las Vegas, so perhaps we're hearing about this new uniform as a precursor to an NHL announcement of the 2022-23 outdoor games. While it seems hard to think that a Winter Classic could be held in the desert, they had one in Dallas in 2020 where there was no snow outside of the artificial snow the NHL paid to have around the rink. Personally, I don't think the chatter of a new jersey leads to this announcement, but this is the NHL. Even the absurd remains on the table.

To recap, the Golden Knights have four jerseys, three of which are worn. The gold will likely replace the gray next season, pushing the gray into alternate status. Red, for the foreseeable future, is out.

Beyond that, we know there will be a new jersey next season whose status is unclear and whose design is currently undergoing a few modifications. Expect an unveiling this summer for next season.

For the record, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim introduced their fourth and fifth jerseys in their fifth year of play, San Jose introduced their fifth jerseys ten years into their existence, Dallas had five jerseys in ten years after they relocated, and it took Tampa Bay fifteen years to get to five different jersey designs. I don't know what it is with new teams in new places introducing a suitcase of clothing before they're old enough to drive, but the Vegas Golden Knights seem to be on that same trajectory.

See you this summer for another jersey unveiling in Sin City!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!