Not So Classic

There's less than a month before the NHL and all its hullabaloo land at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton to begin the setup for the 2022 Heritage Classic game featuring the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs. I haven't really been keeping a close eye on the standings, but a quick check shows that there's currently a 27-point gap between these two teams. I'm not sure how the game will go, but that's a wide chasm between the two squads. Since this game doesn't seem like a classic battle between two competitive teams, perhaps all the accoutrements would make up for it?

I say that because the Sabres and Maple Leafs will wear special jerseys just as every other Heritage Classic and Winter Classic game has featured, and that means there's always a chance that the NHL and Adidas could design something awesome. Of course, recent history shows that most of the designs have been horrific, so let's see how "classic" these new jerseys seem in the scope of the heritages of these two teams.

We'll start with the Sabres because they could have gone a number of ways, but they decided to honour their roots. There won't be any black or red or angry bison heads or crossed sabres or slug-like logos on this uniform because the Sabres decided to stick with a tried-and-tested hockey look that works. While this isn't a true throwback due to some striping issues and some new elements added to the uniform, the Sabres should be credited with making this feel like an old-time hockey sweater. And while the lighting in that image make it appear that it could be a cream-coloured jersey, it's certainly a white jersey when you see it outside the shadows in proper lighting. So far, so good.

The Sabres went to Twitter to show off more images of their uniform, though, and it seems things got a little messy with the logo they showed in the unveiling compared to what was shown on Twitter. See how many differences you can spot since Buffalo used both logos.

Aside from the "NY" added at the bottom on the right, the "vintage felt" logo that was hyped up during the unveiling is clearly not shown on the logo on the left whereas the logo on the right looks like the felt as advertised. One has to wonder what's happening in Buffalo if they used the wrong logo for their unveiling only to correct it on social media. That's a big "yikes" of a mistake.

The shoulder patch seems superfluous as we already know this team is the Buffalo Sabres from the logo on the front, so adding the bison with the word "Sabres" in it to the shoulders just seems like they're filling space. The vintage stitching on the numbers is, again, more aesthetics that no one will see on the ice when the game is being played, so why bother with all the extra fuss if it can't be seen or appreciated? Beyond that, the Sabres included a note on their website about the numbers that states "[r]etail versions of the jersey will feature tackle twill numbers and will not match the game-worn jersey numbers" which makes zero sense at all to include them entirely if fans can't wear the same thing as their hockey heroes. That's simply a baffling thing to say to your own fans.

That will also allow us to circle back to the logo. Since the on-ice version of this jersey is entirely different than the retail version of the jersey, we now know why two different logos are being seen. The on-ice will have the extra embroidery added to the felt to show the charging bison on the front while the retail version just gets the vintage felt without all the dimensional embroidery added. And that officially pushes this jersey into the DUMB category because Sabres fans will never get to wear the same thing their team does.

In knowing how the Sabres screwed up their Heritage Classic jersey offering, let's take a look at their opposition's efforts as the Toronto Maple Leafs will also appear in the game in their own special jerseys.

The Leafs went all the way back to 1918 to recreate a jersey that honoured the Toronto Arenas, the original NHL team in Canada's largest city, and they did a fairly good job at not adding a lot of extra junk that wasn't needed. The large "T" is very clear on the dark blue jersey just as it was for the Arenas in the '18-19 season, the numbers are done in felt just as they would have been a hundred years ago, and the hem stripe is just as it was as the NHL was in its infancy. While some of the Adidas elements that get baked into these jerseys messes up the true heritage look of these jerseys, the Leafs have done a pretty good job in staying true to their history!

My only quibbles are the virtually invisible "Arenas" logo written across the chest and the lack of a cuff stripe in similar fashion to the hem stripe. Yes, some people will complain that the "T" makes it look like "Aretnas", but that was the design back in 1918. Since this isn't a redesign, I'd be more inclined to have the "Arenas" portion in a different colour such as red in order to let the "T" remain the focal point, but have the "Arenas" portion a little more pronounced. The addition of the white cuff would make this jersey complete.

It should be noted that there are no shoulder patches outside of the Heritage Classic patch nor are there any features that can't be seen while players are skating on the ice. The fact that this jersey is available fans also puts it squarely ahead of the Buffalo jersey on that fact alone, but the Leafs have created a fairly respectable faux-back jersey that captures the essence of their 1918-19 Arenas history. That's how you design it right, and it looks GOOD in reality.

Will this be the best Heritage Classic in terms of how these teams are dressed? No. It may not even be the most competitive unless the Sabres can neutralize the weapons that Toronto has on its roster, but the Hamilton night will see a very well-dressed Toronto Maple Leafs team against a can't-wear-what-we're-wearing Buffalo Sabres. If nothing else, though, seeing an outdoor game at Tim Hortons Field will be a fun experience for those who do have tickets to go.

Let's just hope there are no Nor'Easters forecasted for the week!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!