2015-16 NHL Season's New Jerseys

The current 2015-16 NHL season has seen the most jersey changes and additions since the Reebok Edge System took the league by storm in 2007.  Some of the changes are beautiful, while others not so much.  In this article we will be breaking down each new jersey with a rating out of five to explain the overall rankings featured at the end of the article. 

The Anaheim Ducks 

4/5

The Ducks are truly going back to their roots with their new orange alternate which features the beloved Anaheim Mighty Ducks logo from back when Disney owned the franchise.  This blast from the past complements their new gold, black, and orange color scheme very nicely, appealing to both eras of the team's fan base.  The only aspect that is offsetting is the lack of a thin orange stripe in the base pattern like the ones part of the sleeve stripes. 

Arizona Coyotes

2.5/5

For a team with a quality logo and the only variation of maroon as their primary color, the Coyotes had a great opportunity to correct their old simplistic design, but instead they did the opposite.  There is so much wrong with these new uniforms, starting with the sleeve design.  The tri-colored sleeve distracts from the rest of the uniform and takes away from their logo's intimidating presence.  Additionally, their away socks contain mostly maroon and black, not white.  There is an unwritten rule in hockey that jerseys and socks must be the same color, unless you are the Boston Bruins of course (an original six franchise).  Overall, Arizona transitioned from a far too simplistic design to a far too complicated one.  Hopefully they will be able to find a happy medium in the near future.   

Colorado Avalanche

 4/5

With a fantastic modernization of the historic Colorado Rockies logo, the Avalanche have created a third jersey worth purchasing.  Not only does this design speak to nostalgia, it also reconnects the distanced franchise with the new young and elite Avalanche team of the present.  They have also incorporated the "C" portion of the triangular logo onto the shoulder yokes of their primary uniforms, replacing their famous yet controversial big foot logo. 

Edmonton Oilers

4.5/5

The third jersey all hockey fans have been waiting for the Oilers to wear has arrived.  Orange has been just as big of a color as blue since the franchise's founding, so it is nice to see it finally receive the precognition it deserves.  The traditional two-colored stripes located on the sleeves and on the base of the uniform, along with the placement of the sleeve numbers on the shoulder yokes rather than the sleeves themselves, give this alternate jersey a retro feel that brings with it a reminiscence of the Gretzky dynasty days.  

New York Islanders

2/5

I do not know what it is with the Islanders and black, but after another try with it as their third jersey's primary color, you'd think they realize enough is enough.  Not only is this jersey bland, plain, and completely lacking of blue and orange, it is a disgrace to the Islanders' history and dynasty years.  They claim the four stripes featured on the sleeves and socks represent their four cups and glory days, but we all know that it is really just a public relations stunt to get fan approval for a jersey obviously marketed towards Brooklyn Nets fans and not Islanders followers.  Instead of the Islanders worrying about creating a fresh Brooklyn image so they can "fit in" at their new Arena (Barclays Center), they should be flaunting their historic blue and orange colors to win Brooklyn over that way. 

Washington Capitals

3.5/5

The use of the correct shade of red, white, and blue is finally being used in a Capitals jersey.  This bright, patriotic rendition of their old primary jersey really "pops" on TV and immediately sends the message that this team is from the capital of the United States.  The only thing keeping this jersey from scoring higher is the fact that it is basically a reverse of their previous white third jersey that they wore in the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.

2015-16 New Jersey Rankings

1. Edmonton Oilers 
2. Colorado Avalanche 
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. Washington Capitals 
5. Arizona Coyotes 
6. New York Islanders

A Brief History: Barclays Premier League Championship Badge

Every league around the world displays its logo on the kits of all their teams during league play.  This is most commonly done towards the bottom of the shoulder yokes.  In the Barclays Premier League, the previous year's champions get a little something extra, however.  Instead of repping the league's standard badge with a white filler, they get one with gold.  As most of the game's quirks in Europe go, this touch of gold, although minor in the grand scheme of things, adds more to the prestige that comes with winning in a top league.... making this BPL tradition one worth continuing.  

Standard Premier League Badge

Champion's Gold Badge

FC Bayern Munich 2015/16 Home Kit

As one of the world's top clubs, FC Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga, always have millions of eyes set upon them when their new season kits are released each year.  When a top club releases a kit that displeases or breaks long standing tradition their is an expected backlash.  Bayern, however, have done an overall excellent job this year dramatically changing their design from years past while simultaneously maintaining their historic tradition and colors.

Last season they sported a home kit that popped on the TV screen due to its array of vertical blue and red striping.  For the new year, in a simplistic fashion, Bayern have rid themselves of striping all together and are going with a far more simplistic design that features just two shades of red.  The bulk of the kit, ranging from socks to shirt, is coated in their signature fiery red, with a darker variation of it lining the ends of the sleeves, bottom of the shirt, and the Adidas™ piping.  

Although this new variation of red is new to the Bayern kit family, it does an excellent job bringing out the brightness of their classic red, which adds a major intimidation factor to the kit.  An additional benefit of just the two shades of red is how it forces the blue in the team crest (featured on both the shirt and pants) to pop out far more than it would if it was surrounded by blue striping.  Red is the club's primary color, but blue has been such an iconic color of their history for many years past, so even though the designers eliminated the blue stripes, they obviously knew how to keep blue a notable color of the club's kit.   

Overall, these unsophisticated 2015/16 FC Bayern Munich home kits really please my creative side as their simplicity really grabs the eyes of viewers in a complex fashion. 
 

The Return of The Jersey Closet - Our New Look and Feel

After nearly a year, The Jersey Closet is back and is returning with a revamped look and feel.  Our signature ice hockey articles critiquing, commenting, and complimenting various NHL and international jerseys will return in full force just as before, but we are proud to announce the addition of the world's most popular sport, soccer, to TJC.

I decided to try my luck at watching a Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Aston Villa one snowy winter day, and was instantly hooked to the sport.  I quickly realized how unique the sport was compared to our typical American sports, especially the fact that a league is won by the team who finishes the season with the most points, a system completely void of playoffs.  Then, of course, I was introduced to the European Kit (soccer terminology for jersey) system.  When I found out every single team, no matter the league nor ranking, released a whole new rotation of kits each and every season, I knew soccer had a place on TJC.

With hundreds of soccer clubs around the world, each with new kits every season, we will be covering the thrilling sport and its unique kit system year round on TJC.  We feel the balance between Hockey and Soccer will not only add a much needed variation to our site, but will also inspire us as writers to look at the two sports and their apparel from the perspective of the other one and provide you with a reading experience unique from any other sports website on the internet.

We hope you are all just as excited as we are as The Jersey Closet continues to evolve for the better! 

Review: NHL Heritage Classic Jerseys

In the 2014 NHL Heritage Classic, the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators will go head to head while wearing classic jerseys that their franchises have worn in the past.  In this article we are going to evaluate each teams jersey and, at the end, decide who has the better one.

 Vancouver Canucks

Unfortunately, the Canucks have had some very ugly jerseys in their past (http://www.nhluniforms.com/Canucks/Canucks04.html), so its not a surprise that their throwbacks are ugly as well.  They did an excellent job sticking to their roots and I commend them for taking a risk by using such an unappealing design.  However, to start, the maroon primary color of the sweaters is a mucky muddy color and such a dark color would probably have issues standing out on TV, especially while outdoors.  Secondly, the pants!  There are certain unwritten rules in hockey and white pants are something that you just don't wear as they are ugly and flat out weird (they also stain).  On a more positive note, the striping pattern on the sleeves of the jersey, although not great, is pretty cool as it brings back memories of old time hockey when the players actually wore real wool sweaters.  The Canucks, obviously did not have many attractive historic jersey designs to work with, but I still have to give these a failing grade.   

Ottawa Senators

Just as many hockey fans suspected, the Senators are going with the old style "O" logo that their original franchise (1917-1934) wore.  The Sens current third jersey features the same "O" but the base color for that jersey is black.  In the Heritage Classic, however, the Senators have made a white version of their alternate jersey with a few modifications.  These jerseys are not great, but they are certainly better than Vancouver's puke color ones.  To start, it is very cool that the Senators are trying to bring their fans and their players all the way back to when hockey first started in Ottawa.  Also, just like Vancouver, it was a great move by the Ottawa management to try and make these jerseys resemble that of an old time wool hockey sweater.  The red and black striping that goes across the chest really brings out that "old time" look.  The only thing that I don't like about the jerseys is that they have a very close resemblance to the Sens third jerseys and I feel, when designing jerseys for these once in a lifetime outdoor games, the jerseys should be very unique.  This lack of innovation and uniqueness has earned the Senators a "B" on the grading scale. 

Final Rankings:

1. Ottawa Senators
2. Vancouver Canucks

Let us know which jersey you feel is better by commenting below!  As always, tweet us (@JerseyCloset) if you have any suggestions for our articles in the future!

Thanks for reading!

A Brief History: Calgary Flames Alternate Captain Patch

The Calgary Flames, believe it or not, used to be based to Atlanta.  There, the flames had a logo that was a flaming "A" instead of a flaming "C".  What is interesting about the flaming "A" is that it is still present on two Calgary sweaters today, those are the sweaters of the team's alternate captains.

Mike Cammalleri and his alternate captain patch

It is a hockey tradition that each team has one captain (who wears a "C" on his chest) and two alternate captains (who wear an "A" on their chests).  Every single NHL team, except for Calgary, makes their captain letters the same font as the numbers on the back of their jersey.

Calgary, unlike the rest of the league, does not match the font on the back of their jerseys with their alternate captain "A's" as they use the old Atlanta Flames logo instead.  I find this very creative and I think it is a smart move by the Calgary management because not only does it pay a tribute to the franchise's old team, it gives the lifelong Atlanta and Calgary fans a blast from the past!

Let us know what you think about the Calgary Flames alternate captain letters on our Twitter account (@JerseyCloset).  Also, if you have any suggestions for next Friday's "A Brief History" segment, let us know!

Thanks for reading!
  

The Ice (Wednesday Guest Blog)

 


People always ask me about the ice hockey rinks and how they work. For example, how is the ice white and not clear, thickness, how much water does it take etc. This is a huge topic so I decided to just focus today's blog on the "ice" of a hockey rink.

It's easy to overlook the surface that makes indoor ice hockey possible. The quality of the ice surface makes a huge difference especially at the highest levels of competition. Forming a good skating surface isn't simple like making ice cubes. Preparing and freezing a rink properly happens in no less than a dozen stages, with some stages laying ice as thin as 1/32 of an inch. Some of the layers require paint to create the background plus the process to provide clear markings in order to play hockey.

Oxygen is what gives an ice cube its cloudy core, too much of it softens ice, making skate blades sink. Layers of ice create strength and density. The first layer is the "bonding layer" which freezes almost immediately after being sprayed on the frozen concrete base. The second layer is painted bright white which allows for a strong contrast between the black hockey puck and ice. Lines and logos are all placed in the first eighth of an inch.

Making an ice rink isn't as simple as flooding the floor with gallons of water. The crew must apply the water carefully and slowly, in order to insure ideal thickness. An ice surface that is too thick requires more energy to keep frozen and is prone to getting soft on the top. A surface that is too thin is also dangerous because skaters risk cutting straight through the ice.  It takes between 12,000 and 15,000 gallons to form a hockey rink surface.

Next episode....ice resurfacing...The Zamboni!

OFF DAY: Stay Tuned for Wednesday's Guest Blog

There will be no article today, but get ready for Wednesday's guest blog!

In the meantime, enjoy this article on the 2014 Sochi Olympic Hockey Jerseys: http://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2013/11/6/5073538/sochi-2014-ranking-the-olympic-jerseys


Thanks!

A Brief History: Colorado Avalanche Yeti Logo

The Colorado Avalanche are often considered the NHL team with the most odd and peculiar secondary logo in the game.  This logo (above) is of the foot of the mythical creature known as the Yeti.  As strange as this logo may be, it does make sense for a team based in Denver as Yeti's are often rumored to have been spotted in Colorado's cold snowy mountains.

As much sense as it may make, however, many people ask themselves the question, "why?"  Why did the team decide to use such a logo and affiliate themselves with a Yeti?  Well, actually, there is no official answer to that question as the franchise has never offered an explanation!

In our opinion, we feel the team did this simply to be different and create a unique yet appealing jersey concept.  Maroon is already an uncommon base color for a jersey, so it would make sense for the jersey to have an uncommon logo as well!

What is your opinion on the Avalanche Yeti logo?  Let us know in the comments below or by tweeting us on Twitter (@JerseyCloset).


Thanks for reading!

A Brief History: The Start of the LA Kings Silver and Black Era

Everybody can remember the day when Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.  However, something that often goes unrecognized from that same event was the re-branding of the Kings.  After rocking their historic yellow and purple color scheme for over three decades, the Kings (only a few days after the Gretzky trade) simplified their look going to a black, silver, and white color scheme. 

This change was not a coincidence with Gretzky's arrival, however, as the Kings re-vamped their look solely because of him.  They knew they had just went from a nobody franchise to an organization with the best player to ever live, so they had to make a statement.

As you can see today, this style was well accepted by Kings fans and black, silver, and white have been the franchise's colors ever since!  In fact, the Kings would win their first Stanley Cup in these colors.


Thanks for reading this weeks "A Brief History!"  Please let us know what you think in the comments.

The Biscuit (Wednesday Guest Blog)

So when you are asked to be a guest blogger for Jack Blitz you know you have to bring you’re “A” game! I decided to discuss something different from hockey sweaters but equally important to the game of hockey and its history…The Biscuit!

Ice Hockey is all about the puck, that round saucer shaped projectile that is made of solid vulcanized black rubber, measuring 3 inches across by 1 inch thick, weighing in at six ounces. Hockey pucks have raised edges or grooves which give the hockey stick something to grip when players shoot…. obviously a smooth puck would be harder to shoot.

Some History….

Originally, ice hockey used balls until the late 1800s.  By the 1870s, 'flat' pucks were being used made of wood and/or rubber. In the beginning, the pucks were square. Rubber pucks were first made by slicing a rubber ball in half, then trimming the disc square. The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal is credited with making and using the first round pucks in the 1880’s.

Today, hockey pucks are only made in four countries: Canada, Russia, China and the Czech Republic. The pucks are molded from mixed rubber, a special bonding material and a type of coal dust called carbon black. About 5,000 pucks can be made in a typical week and most pucks can be silkscreened displaying team and league logos. In the professional and elite leagues pucks are frozen before the game to reduce bouncing during play. It’s not uncommon for hockey pucks to reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour or more, the current NHL record belongs to Zdeno Chára, whose slapshot was clocked 108.8 miles per hour (175.1 km/h) in the 2013 NHL All Star Game Skills competition.

Different Types

  

In addition to the standard 6 ounce black hockey puck there have been several variations:

·       Blue 4-ounce puck used for training younger players who are not yet able to use a standard puck.

·       Red or Orange 10-ounce heavy training pucks, for players looking to develop the strength of their shots or improve their stick handling skills.

·       Steel pucks weighing 2 pounds for players looking to increase wrist strength these pucks are used only for stick handling as they could seriously injure other players.

·       Hollow, lightweight plastic type pucks of varying fluorescent colors are available for off-ice training and street or roller hockey.

The Failed Experiment

The FoxTrax "smart puck" also called the glow puck, smart puck, laser puck, Firepuck, or super puck was developed by the Fox Television Network when it owned the NHL broadcasting rights. This puck had integrated electronics to track its position on screen; a blue streak traced the path of the puck across the ice. The streak would turn red if the puck was shot especially hard. This was an experiment in broadcasting intended to help viewers unfamiliar with hockey to better follow the game by making the puck more visible. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlRCGR10uBg

Today’s high definition broadcasts have virtually removed the need for such a ridiculous gimmick but even without HD, the use of the Firepuck was discontinued after the 1998 season for these reasons:

• Players hated the use of such pucks because the structural change increased the tendency for the puck to bounce on the ice and the computer chips weren’t freezer friendly. The bouncing made it difficult for the goaltenders and resulted in increased scoring.
• The television viewing contrast of the Firepuck was not noticeably enhanced when the camera view was of the entire rink, this being the most common camera shot.
• Hockey fans found it insulting; there was a strong backlash from hockey purists.
• Owners very unhappy with the cost per puck - $400!

If you liked my guest blog, leave a comment below... Thanks!

Review: LA Kings Home Jersey

There are not many teams that can have primary colors of black and white and make them look good, but the Los Angles Kings are one of the few teams in the world that can.  These jerseys are down right intimidating and more importantly memorable.

The Kings jerseys are very simple in the sense that they only have one horizontal stripe and one thin vertical stripe on the arm sleeves.  Other than that, this jersey is completely black.  Their logo is very appealing as well... the "LA" immediately tells you where this team is from and the historic crown under it says everything else. 

None of that, however, is the main reason why these sweaters are great.  The best part about these uniforms is the silver bands that go around the white stripes on the arm.  These metallic looking stripes stand out tremendously and on TV the way they reflect light creates a shiny effect perfect for the look of a King.

The Kings pants have two white stripes

The only issue with the Kings uniform has nothing to do with their jerseys, it is the pants!  The Pants contain two thin white stripes that go down the legs and they don't coincide with any design on the jersey or socks.  The Kings organization should replace this with a single silver stripe (just like the one going down the arm sleeve on the jersey) or get even simpler and wear plain black pants.


That is our opinion on the LA Kings jerseys, what do you think?  Let us know in the comments below.  Also, check out our Twitter feed: @JerseyCloset.


Thanks for reading!

A Brief History: New York Islanders Logo

A hockey jersey would not be complete without its logo, and over the last forty years (excluding their awful Fisherman logo) the New York Islanders have made a very minor and often times unrecognizable change to their logo.  This change was the addition of a fourth orange band around the hockey stick in their logo versus the original three.  The team did this to symbolize the organization's four straight Stanley Cup victories from the 80's.

Interestingly enough, however, the change occurred over twenty five years after the four cups, when the team resurrected their classic sweaters in 2010.  In addition to adding a fourth stripe, the Isles made all four of the stripes thicker and bolder so no one would ever forget their historic past.

Check out the evolution below:

The original logo with three thin stripes

The new logo with four bold stripes

We hope you enjoyed this week's "A Brief History" and let us know what you think below in the comments!  Here is a link to a video discussing the Islanders jersey/logo history in more depth: http://video.islanders.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=72671


Thanks for reading! 

Review: Team Canada Jerseys

 

Team Canada's Three Olympic Jerseys

With the Olympics just a couple a weeks away, Team Canada is predicted to be the powerhouse of the games.  They are also one of only a few teams to have alternate jersey that they will wear in Sochi.  This third jersey has gotten mixed reactions from Canadians as it has a primary color of black... something Canada has never done before.  The primary red and white jerseys are very similar to past Canadian jerseys as they have the traditional Canadian maple leaf logo and feature red and white very prominently.  Below is a brief evaluation of each jersey individually.

Red Jersey

This is by far the best of the three Canadian jerseys as the white chest stripe, that contains the maple leaf logo within in it, stands out tremendously.  It immediately grabs your attention and the bright colors will look great on high definition TV!  Additionally, the "cut out" effect of the logo (see picture above) is very creative and adds to a more clean/modern look that Canada may use for years to come.

White Jersey

They are very similar to the red jersey so the white sweaters are a close second.  There is not much to say about these as they are basically the reverse of the red jerseys, but the red chest stripe definitely makes this sweater pop.  Just like the red, these will really stand out on TV. 

 Black Alternate

It is not bad, but it is not good.  These alternates are very plain and have a lot of open/blank space on them.  To fix this and make the jerseys pop out a little more, Canada should have added a continuation of the stripe that goes across the chest onto both sleeves of the arm, as the arm sleeves are the main reason these sweaters seem so lifeless.  With that being said, however, the addition of the gold piping on the outside of the stripe on the chest is a nice touch and emphasizes that Canada is out for gold.  Also, I think when we see these jerseys worn in full uniform (with the black pants and black helmets) the all black look will be pretty cool.  The only problem is that Canada's national colors are red and white, not black!

Final Rankings

1. Red Jersey
2. White Jersey
3. Black Alternate Jersey

Let us know what you think about our evaluations and final rankings by writing a comment bellow and voting in our poll on the left side of the site!

Thanks for reading!

Winter Classic Jersey Review

On January 1st, 2014, the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs participated in a historic, record breaking NHL Winter Classic.  The atmosphere was unimaginable as fans packed the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI and set an NHL league attendance record!  Not only was this an amazing game, the classic sweaters that the two clubs wore were also pretty cool. Both team's jerseys captured the essence of the their organization's history and tradition.  Also, an NHL first, the league allowed both teams to wear dark jerseys (blue and red) as they felt it was the only way to fully complete the blast from the past.

Justin Abdelkader Scores in his Snazzy Uni!

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings had already participated in the 2009 Winter Classic, so the team had to come up with a jersey design/logo that was new, attractive, and even more memorable than before. The Wings succeeded at this as they launched a jersey and logo that featured a color scheme using their primary color of red and their historic manilla (off-white) color for the stripes.  Overall, this jersey is very attractive and it really stands out as the word Detroit immediately tells fans who they are and where they are from.  The classic font that the numbers and name have on the back create a very compelling/historic feel to the jersey as well.

Joffrey Lupul (left) and Dion Phaneuf (right) Chat before a Faceoff

Toronto Maple Leafs 

Unlike the Wings, Toronto was in their first Winter Classic so they had a little more leeway when designing their classic sweater, and "classic" is definitely the right word to describe it.  The Leafs kept their historic blue and white, but added a classic striping pattern up the sleeve and they even brought back their historic (differently shaped) logo.  Another aspect of the jersey that Leaf fans were rather unfamiliar with was the addition of a thin white shoulder yoke.  Just like Detroit, the Maple Leafs created a sweater that brought back so many old time hockey memories, the element of the jersey that created that feel was by far the old style maple leaf with the traditional font inside of it.  That logo dates back to when the team was first founded!

Both teams released arguably the best looking Winter Classic sweaters in the history of the event, so here at The Jersey Closet we could not decide on a winner... we want you to pick by voting in our poll located on the left side panel of the blog.

Thanks for Reading!

OFF DAY: Winter Classic Jersey Review Coming Soon

Our next post will evaluate and elaborate upon the jerseys that the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs wore during last week's NHL Winter Classic. 

In the meantime, here are two links to a very informative history on the two teams and their jerseys: http://www.nhluniforms.com/RedWings/RedWings.html and http://www.nhluniforms.com/MapleLeafs/MapleLeafs.html

Happy reading and remember to check back daily!

A Brief History: Detroit Red Wings Captain Letters

The Detroit Red Wings have arguably one of the most historic sweaters in the game of hockey, but there is one aspect of jersey that goes unnoticed by a lot of hockey fans.  That is the captain letters (the "C" and "A") and how they are on the top right side of the jersey instead of the top left like the rest of the league.  

Pavel Datsyuk's "A" is on the right side of his sweater

Many people think this is because the jersey design is so old and untouched, but that is not the case.  The real reason is because when the league decided to switch to the Reebok Edge jersey system in 2007, the new, more form fitting jerseys did not contain enough room above the wings in the logo to fit the captain letters in that space.  So, in an attempt to keep the same design the team has been rocking for nearly a century, the organization decided to put the "C" and the "A" on the right side of the jersey instead of messing with tradition.

If you enjoyed our first "A Brief History" segment please let us know in the comments below (we are open to suggestions).  Thanks for reading!

Review: Buffalo Sabres New Third Jersey

After going a couple of NHL seasons without a third jersey, the Sabres aren't anymore as they have released one of the strangest jerseys in NHL history.  These jerseys have two primary colors: the front is mainly yellow and the back is blue.  They are the only team in the league to have a multiple toned jersey and that is not something to be proud of because this jersey is probably one of the worst in the league today.

Sabres debut their new sweaters.

First off, this jersey has grey numbers outlined with yellow on the back which blend in with the navy blue.  In my opinion, they should have reversed it and went with yellow numbers and a gray outline.  That would make the back of the jersey stand out a little more and create contrast with the very bright yellow on the front side of the sweater.  Secondly, I do not understand the purpose of the sleeves turning plain grey once they get passed the elbow.  If the team decided to change that and make the bottom part just like the rest of the arm, the jersey would not be as bad as it is.

Matt Moulson rocking the new jersey in NHL 14

By eliminating grey on the numbers and on the sleeves this jersey would really stand out and leave a lasting impression on fans and players, making the jersey go from awful to mediocre.  With all that being said, however, I do complement the Sabres organization for being different and trying something new because recently most teams (including Ottawa, Washington, and Boston) have used retro style sweaters as their alternates.  

Let us know what you think of the new jerseys below in the comments.  Thanks for reading!