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Adidas dumping NHL third jerseys for 2017-18
Adidas is taking over the NHL’s jersey-making beginning in the 2017-18 season, and there are some details about what this next wave of hockey kits are going to look like.
Sources have told Yahoo Sports that the most dramatic changes to the jerseys in this first season will be in their materials, rather than cosmetic ones. If you remember the World Cup of Hockey jerseys, Adidas trumpeted “cutting-edge adizero technology blending three lightweight, resilient fabrics to keep the players cool and comfortable while providing added flexibility and improving overall movement.”
Those World Cup jerseys also incorporated the Adidas stripes on the sides, under the arms. We’re not sure if that’s going to be standard issue on the new NHL jerseys.
Another interesting nugget we’ve learned: That we’re unlikely to see wholesale uniform changes for many NHL teams during this first wave of Adidas jerseys. The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs “jumped the gun” by a year, we were told, in order to get their new sweaters out as soon as possible – in the Leafs’ case, in time for the Centennial celebration. Those teams were expected to wait until the Adidas changeover.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be some interesting changes for NHL sweaters beginning next season: Adidas is phasing out third jerseys, and some teams are going to have to decide whether to adopt their alternate jerseys as their primary ones.
From Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Multiple sources tell the Star Tribune that all NHL teams will be permitted to have only home and road jerseys next season as Adidas takes over for Reebok as the official outfitter of NHL uniforms. There will be no third jerseys, in order to make the initial implementation of new sweaters easier.
The Wild is in the midst of deciding whether to go with red or green home sweaters. If the Wild chooses green, which sounds probable, the jersey likely will be slightly redesigned from the current third jersey.
According to NHL Uniform Database, there are 18 teams with alternate jerseys this season. (That includes the Philadelphia Flyers, with their anniversary ones.) If teams have to pick and choose which jerseys to adopt, a here are a few teams that should consider making their alternate ones their primary ones:
Anaheim Ducks: You simply can’t give us the classic Mighty Ducks logo and then take it away this quickly.
Calgary Flames: The classic white ‘C’ on the bright red sweater beats the hell out of the dark red with the black ‘C’ logo.
Colorado Avalanche: I’ve long said that the Avs need a total jersey overhaul, but the Colorado tribute sweaters they wear as alternates are sweet as heck and should be their home duds.
Ottawa Senators: The Big ‘O’ all day and all night over the current home jersey.
New York Islanders: JUST KIDDING those all-black-everything Brooklyn jerseys are atrocious.
Obviously, many of these designs could come back after this initial season of Adidas gear, as well as new ones. But for now: Which NHL third jerseys would you salvage?
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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