NHL

Look Good, Play Good – An NHL third-jersey review

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In any line of work, you are what you wear. The same rings true for pro sports; the NHL is no exception.

By: Jonathan Goad

My brother and I always get made fun of by opposing gamers, for choosing our uniforms anytime we play a sports video game.

His favorite football team is the San Diego…oops…Los Angeles Chargers (I just threw up in my mouth a little) and probably 90 percent of the time he dons the powder blue jerseys. Admittedly, I am a fan of those.

I tend to mix it up a bit more when “hitting the sticks.” And I’m a big fan of incorporating black into a uniform — maybe that’s my inner-dark side showing itself?

I’ve always thought that if you look good, then you’ll play good. That has never meant that if you don’t have any skill, then you’ll magically be the best player on the floor.

Looking good while playing gives you some boosted confidence.

Last offseason, Adidas became the official uniform provider for the NHL. For the 2017-2018 season, each team only had two jerseys, a home, and a road.

Most of these were very similar to what the teams had already been wearing, but with the “Adidas” touch to them. For the most, they looked pretty sharp (except for the Nashville Predators).

NHL

Photo Credit: FansEdge

Seriously, does it get any more boring than that?

This offseason, Adidas is releasing some alternate jerseys for some of the teams.

Eventually, all teams will once again have alternate jerseys.

We’ve already had a handful of teams officially release their third uniforms for the upcoming season. As more are released, we’ll critique those as well.

Let’s start with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks had one of the most iconic jerseys of all-time back in the 90’s. The credit goes to the Mighty Ducks movies, however.

NHL

Photo Credit: Sports Logos News

Say it with me…

Quack….Quack….Quack…Quack! Quack! Quack! Gooo, Ducks!

 

Anaheim is bringing them back — sort of.

The logo looks sharp, and I dig the black too. However, it seems like they tried to modernize the classic 90’s look — the color on the shoulders being unnecessary.

Adidas could have left the shoulders black like the rest of the jersey, and this would have been a great look. The hockey sticks are orange, because, for some reason, the Ducks are orange now.

I don’t hate these jerseys, but I don’t love them either. When you try to change a classic look, you have to be very careful — with these particular ones missing the mark.

The shoulders take too much away from what could have been a top-tier alternate jersey.

Rating: 6.8/10

The Arizona Coyotes have some of the best home and road uniforms. The colors mesh nicely and look great on the ice — where they have also gone with a throwback for their third jersey this season.

The Coyotes went with almost an exact replica of their mid-to-late 90’s look.

Maybe it’s because I lived in Phoenix when these came out, or perhaps it’s the black again, but I think they nailed these. The colors are great, the pattern of the stripes is unique, and the coyote logo fits perfectly.

Nothing more really needs to be said. These are fantastic third jerseys. If I were a fan of the team, I’d own one.

Rating: 8.9/10

The Carolina Hurricanes have always been middle of the road with their uniforms. They’re never great, but never terrible.

Maybe I’m partial to the color scheme, due to a bit of nostalgia– my high school was also red, white, and black.

These colors do work well together, so it can’t be messed up too much.

Here’s their new look.

Black seems to be the theme to the new third jersey, and I’m okay with it. These uniforms look sharp — with the red stripes on the solid black really standing out.

The gray on the shoulders is sleek; a subtle look as well. They added a flag to one of the old logos.

I wasn’t aware that the two flags signal a hurricane warning — we don’t get a lot of those in Missouri — being on the outskirts of tornado alley.

These uniforms receive a slightly higher rating than the Coyotes because they’re somewhat of a new look.

Sometimes new doesn’t work out, but in this case, these definitely do.

Rating: 9.1/10

The Columbus Blue Jackets are bringing back one of their old alternate jerseys as well. It wasn’t an awful look then, and it won’t be now.

MrSwift13 isn’t a fan at all. He makes some valid arguments, but I don’t think they’re quite as bad as he makes them out to be.

Yes, the blue is slightly different than the primary jersey, but it’s not a deal-breaker. I like the cannon logo. It gives a little ferocity to the look and pays homage to the Union Army who used cannons in the Civil War. 

The cream color, or off-white, looks just fine.

If it were white, these jerseys would make Columbus look like Toronto. Overall, not a bad look, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Philadelphia Flyers have also released their third jerseys for the upcoming season. For the most part, the “Original Six” and the “Second Six” have kept their classic looks.

The Flyers are no exception. They announced their new unis on their Instagram page.

Here’s what they’ll look like.

NHL

Photo Credit: SportsLogo.net

Back to black. What’s going on Adidas? The Flyers have worn black before, so these aren’t going to shock anyone. It’s a decent look. Black and orange pairs nicely together.

The oversized numbers on the sleeves are interesting. They’ve done it in the past, and I kind of like it. And it’s relatively unique in the league.

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Another middle of the road third jersey. Nothing flashy, but it works.

Rating: 7.1/10

As more alternate jerseys are released, we’ll have more articles to grade them. Remember, if you look good, then you play good. We’ll have to wait and see how many NHL teams have some boosted confidence when they rock their third jerseys.

Categories: NHL, The Campfire

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