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Uni Watch

Blue Jackets Switch Road Pants from Red to Blue

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Some unexpected NHL news today, as the Blue Jackets announced via Twitter that they’re changing their road pants from red to blue.

The team’s tweet is a bit confusing, because it says, “We’re bringing back blue pants on the road this regular season!,” which raises a couple of questions:

  • What do they mean by “bringing back blue pants on the road?” According to the NHL Uniform Database, they’ve never worn blue pants on the road. (The only blue pants they’ve ever worn are the ones that go with their alternate uni and their Reverse Retro uni.)
  • What do they mean when they say they’re bringing back the blue pants “this regular season”? Will they stick with the red in the preseason? In the playoffs? Maybe it’s just sloppy wording, but it’s an odd way to phrase the announcement.

Update: Reader/commenter Conner Paul notes that the Blue Jackets did indeed wear blue pants on the road for one game in 2021. My bad for not remembering that! You can see lots of pics from that game — essentially a preview of what the team will look like on the road this season — here.

Anyway: I like this change. Now the pants will match the shoulder/sleeve striping, and the red stripe at the base of the jersey will contrast a bit with the blue pants, instead of blending into the red pants.

 
  
 
Comments (18)

    100% better, never understood why teams wore the red pants with blue jerseys. Rangers are the only ones who can get away with it. Go blue for home also.

    When did the NHL drop the rule of having only one set of breezers for both home and road uniforms?

    Wasn’t aware of that either. The NHL Uniform Rules link stipulate only that the breezers for home and away uniforms can be the same, not that they must be. If it was ever a rule, it had to have been before third sweaters were introduced, since many of those had different pants from the teams’ normal home/roads.

    I’m not aware of the rule either, but it does raise an interesting point — is this the first time a team *will* have different breezers for home and away (not counting for third jerseys)? There are no current teams that do.

    It arose when the Stars changed the gold in their uniform to silver; Dallas wanted black breezers for the home sweater and green ones for the white jersey, but the NHL said “pick one, you can’t have both”. But yes, third jerseys have rendered that rule quaint.

    Both Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Rockies had different colour pants for home and road. Kings in 1970s (yellow at home, purple on road). Rockies in 1976-77 (blue at home, red on road).

    I don’t think it is a rule but in terms of merchandise sales (ugh), which drives the aesthetics far more than it should (tail wagging dog), fans don’t walk around in official team breezers. They do buy the sweaters. So it wouldn’t make sense to spend money for 2 pairs of something people aren’t buying or wearing if they aren’t actually on the team. I hate myself for being forced to think this way.

    I like the switch to blue pants. Really would be on board for them changing their uniforms. This team high on the list for needing a uniform redesign. Need some waist stripes. Not a fan of the thin stripes along arms and on socks. The sock striping needs a big-time upgrade.

    Curious… Does anyone know why the Jackets wore blue pants for that one game in the first place…?

    It was mostly an internal push from the guys in the room who just wanted to see how it looked. They had to get special dispensation from the league to even try it, and even then it could only be for one game. (And it was our last road game of the season.) It looked so good that the fans went bananas and almost immediately demanded it be a permanent change, but the deadline for uniform changes for 2021-22 had already passed.

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