Clothes Make The Man?

I had no plans on being at Canada Life Centre when the week started, but the week ended with me sitting up high in the stands thanks to a friend offering tickets that couldn't be used by her (thank you, Tara!). The New Jersey Devils were in town to battle the Jets, and I have to say that I really have no care to watch the Devils play on any night. That's not to say that they don't have good players, but they're the New Jersey Devils. They're not fun with some players injured, and there's zero rivalry with the Jets. I was, however, determined to have a good time as the Jets and Devils battled!

Ok, let me drop the shiny, happy outlook and say that the Devils looked awful. I'm not certain if Sheldon Keefe wrote this game off long before arriving in Winnipeg, but the Devils looked like they wanted to be anywhere else not named Canada Life Centre. After giving up two goals in the opening two minutes to Alex Iafallo and David Gustafsson, it felt like the Devils realized there was a game being played as they did push back a little, but the Jets certainly controlled the game thanks to their solid defensive play.

While Iafallo would score again on the power-play and Mark Scheifele added a fourth goal as Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 24 shots he faced for his seventh shutout, it might be time to bring up the discussion as to what uniforms the Jets should be wearing throughout the playoffs. The Whiteout will happen again as advertised last night, but the heritage jerseys that the Jets wear occasionally really should be elevated thanks to how good they look on the ice.

One can make the case for the standard home and road uniforms, as shown to the right, to be worn in the playoffs. These are, after all, the jerseys that the Jets have worn since they've returned to Winnipeg. There's nothing overly problematic with these jerseys when it comes to the Jets' brand and identity, but it's hard to deny how good the Jets looked tonight on home ice in their heritage jerseys.

I can make the case that there's an attachment for fans of a certain age to the heritage logo, and the Jets make no secret about their ties to Jets v1.0 by honouring players like Dale Hawerchuk, Dave Babych, and others. Yes, there's a lack of playoff success from that era thanks to the incredible teams that played in the Smythe Division, but it's not like the current jerseys have seen a ton of success. Outside of the 2018 Western Conference Final appearance, the Jets really have nothing else about which they can boast in their current uniforms.

Comparatively, these two uniforms look and feel more like traditional hockey jerseys. Tonight was the last time that the Jets were scheduled to wear the navy heritage jerseys this season, and it should be noted that the Jets were 10-2-0 this season while wearing them. Tack on that they beat all of Dallas, Colorado, and Vancouver while wearing these jerseys, and they start to look better. If that's not enough, the Jets scored 45 times in these jerseys while surrendering just 22 goals and recording two shutouts. Averaging 3.75 goals-per-game and only surrendering 1.83 goals-per-game-against would be incredible playoff numbers!

There is precedent for the Jets to apply to have their heritage jerseys worn. The Carolina Hurricanes wore their black alternate jerseys the last few seasons, and the Edmonton Oilers wore their alternate jerseys in both 2017 and 2021 in the playoffs. There are other examples - Sharks, Penguins, Sabres, and Ducks all within the last decade - so the Jets should seriously consider this option, especially with their record at home in the heritage jerseys. While it would be even cooler to have the Jets in white at home, I'll take the heritage jerseys being worn as the first step in righting a jersey wrong. White at home should be the rule, but that's for another day.

Of course, it doesn't matter what the team wears if they play as well as they did tonight against New Jersey. The Jets locked down the neutral zone at times, they took care of business in their own zone, and they scored timely goals when they had opportunities. If the Jets are gearing up for the playoffs over their final ten games, the first instance of that went extremely well. They also looked good doing it in their heritage jerseys, lending more credence to the "if you look good, you play good" philosophy we hear in hockey.

If clothes do make the man or, in this case, team, the Jets should be preparing that request for permission to do in the NHL immediately.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!