As Promised

The Vegas Golden Knights announced today that they're moving to the gold jerseys at home that they wore as an alternate uniform last season. This announcement should surprise exactly no one thanks to owner Bill Foley making it clear in January that this was the plan for the 2022-23 season. The Golden Knights will keep the white jerseys for the road while the gray jerseys move to the alternate option, and there's still an unseen Reverse Retro jersey that will be worked into the mix this season. Officially, this move marks the start of "The Golden Age" for the Vegas Golden Knights, but anyone who was keeping tabs on Vegas knew this was coming months ago thanks to Foley letting the cat out of the bag.

In the linked article from HBIC, I wrote that Foley had told Vegas Hockey Hotline on Sin Bin Vegas on Friday, January 14, 2022 that the Golden Knights would indeed be golden for this upcoming season, stating, "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".

With this news having been revealed some nine months ago, I am surprised by everyone's reactions to the news today. Yes, most of the responses have been positive, but it's not like this happened on a whim. Foley told us it was happening. And it did.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the gold uniforms that the Golden Knights wear. They're bold, but easy to read from a distance. That makes for a good jersey when watching hockey considering some fans sit in the nosebleed sections. The stripes make it look like a traditional hockey uniform even if the colour isn't, but that's the fun in designing a good uniform - traditional elements can be combined with modern colours to make a solid uniform.

What you will notice that's different on Vegas' jerseys this season is their new jersey sponsor logo, Circa Sports. Circa Sports is an American sportsbook operator based in Las Vegas that was founded by casino owner Derek Stevens and named after Stevens' Circa Resort and Casino. Circa Sports currently offers online gambling to the states of Nevada, Colorado, and Iowa, but Colorado Avalanche fans won't see the logo in their arena thanks to the sponsorship deal only being for the home jerseys. If you watch Vegas games regularly, be prepared to see the gold jerseys with the gray scribble on the shoulder all season long. In case you were wondering, I hate this. All of the jersey sponsor logos need to go.

The home helmet sponsor in Capital One and away helmet sponsor in P3 Health Partners will remain on players' noggins as they were last season, so that's three different logos now sponsoring some part of the uniforms for the Golden Knights. For those asking when the NHL becomes European hockey with all their logos plastered all over their uniforms, we're sliding down that slippery slope as you read this.

Oh, and just in case you're not sick of jersey sponsors yet, please refer to them as "jersey entitlement partnerships" as the Golden Knights do when referencing them. That's the official NHL name for the jersey sponsor logos as per the NHL. Whatever.

Anyway, there's a major jersey update that kills two birds with one stone as you got the announcement about the Golden Knights going gold at home as promised by Bill Foley and you get the proper nomenclature for the jersey sponsorship logos... er, "entitlement partnerships" as promised by the NHL. My hope is the next major jersey announcement won't be one that was foretold months ago, but it seems that there have been a lot of leaks surrounding what teams will wear this season as the new campaign nears.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!