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After a seemingly endless series of leaks, the Sharks finally made it official last night and revealed their new uni set. To their credit, they showed the full uniforms, not just the jerseys. Here’s a before/after comparison of the home designs:
The new uni is the first mono-teal design in team history. Not awful, but I usually prefer hockey pants to provide some contrast. I like the addition of the belly striping, but I miss the orange accents that appeared on the old sleeve and sock stripes — that subtle uni element punched way above its weight and added a bit of warmth to the proceedings. The new circular shoulder patches look good.
It’s hard to see in the photo, but the new pants have white striping. One of the earlier leaks provided a better view of that, as seen here:
Now let’s look at the road whites:
Love the teal pants with this combo. Again, the new belly striping is a plus, but I still miss the orange accents.
And once again, we get get a fuller view of the new design via one of the earlier leaks:
The new jerseys feature some textural details that will be invisible on the ice but are interesting from a production standpoint. You can see them in this hype video:
Overall: Not bad.
Also of note: No ad patches on the jerseys (at least for now).
ITEM! New ‘Ask Me Anything’ Installment
This week’s Bulletin article is the latest installment in my “Ask Me Anything” series, where readers submit questions and I do my best to respond. This edition includes questions about squatchee colors on caps with contrasting front panels, NFL sleeves, how leaks can ruin a team’s marketing plans, the player I’d rep if I were forced to wear a jersey to a ballgame, the differences between the sports we do and don’t “play,” my least favorite foods, and more.
My Premium Subscribers can read the piece here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, you now have three ways to get on board:
In case you missed it yesterday, I’ve partnered with the cap brand Official League on a contest to design an unofficial USMNT cap for the upcoming World Cup. Full details here.
What Paul Did Last Night
Who was that signing autographs at last night’s Staten Island FerryHawks game, which I attended with my pal Rex? None other than former Miracle Met Ed Kranepool! I’m not a big autograph guy, but I always liked Steady Eddie, so I had him sign my ticket:
Isn’t that nice?
Also of note: If the insect infestation at the ballpark last night is any indication, the FerryHawks may soon have to change their name to the Spotted Lanternflies. It was like a plague of locusts out there!
Comments (38)
The pants are teal not deal. But overall a good look for the Sharks.
“Now awful”??
Did you mean “Not”
Yes. Fixed.
*also…”love the deal pants”
Did you mean “teal”
Yes. Fixed.
Spotted Lanternflies?? Sounds like a Uni design contest in the making :-)
I love the road whites, but the Sharks’ home set really needs the black pants. Too much teal.
Agreed. It’s funny how far little elements go in their look. The teal breezers pair really well for road games with the white sweaters but that leaves you with mono-teal at home unless you add black breezers. And since you don’t waste money on things you can’t sell, black breezers would be a waste.
Same for the orange stripes. At best a 4th color in their old set but it really worked.
+1
God save the ticket stub!!!
Side note: spotted lantern flies are everywhere (including Heinz Field’s pedestrian ramps in Pittsburgh), but the good news is nature is figuring out that these invasive things are tasty and are now on their menus. -C.
When I heard about the leak from the Sharks I thought that is going to be a lot of teal. After seeing the uniforms on the ice in the photos I am surprised that I do like the uniforms with the teal equipment and it’s an upgrade over their old look. The jersey definitely an upgrade with waist stripes, better shoulder patch, faux collar lacing Adidas does is gone, I like seeing the orange trim go. Like there is pant striping.
Hoping this will inspire the Dallas Stars to make a move to all green with the addition of green equipment.
I was thinking the same thing about the all teal combo–but on the ice? My mind started to shift. I’m not all the way there yet of saying I like it, but I’m a Sharks fan and I intend to suffer along with the team all year long, so I’ll have a lot of time to see if I can get to a point of like.
Unlike a lot of Sharks fans, who really despised the orange, I never minded it, even liking its amped-up usage, particularly on the white jersey. But I find myself okay with its absence here. I am still fond of the gray as an accent color from the original uniform set and feel like that could have been utilized here (and while gray is an odd accent color, it does make sense since sharks themselves can be gray) to add that little bit of contrast that’s missing.
Nevertheless, this is certainly a big step up, and I’m excited to see it on the ice. Hopefully without ad patches to ruin it.
The Sharks unichange has similarities to the 2009 uni change of the Jags, the emphasis of teal and a reduction of secondary and/or accent colors
I guess I would consider it an upgrade. IMO the Sharks have one of the worst (if not the worst) jerseys in the NHL. I just hate teal as a color for sports uniforms. They definitely need to consider black or blue pants. The whites are not that bad due to the lesser use of the teal.
I really like the Sharks’ new look, especially the classic striping on the jersey and pants. And I’m good with the mono look — to me, the black pants and helmets on the prior set just watered down the whole design. For me, this is a big step-up.
Paul, hope you stomped or otherwise killed as many of those bugs as possible last night.
They’ve started showing up in South Jersey and are quite the nuisance.
I suppose the spread of laternflies is better than murder hornets?
I saw only one spotted lantern fly in Stone Harbor this summer and squashed it. Same while passing through Delaware.
Harrisburg/Hershey are filled with them – I killed a lot the other weekend at my in-laws.
Apparently, the best defense against SLFs is milkweed. As a bonus, milkweed is a monarch butterflies habitat and they need all the help they can get. We’re looking at planting some here in Alexandria because we’re expecting SLFs next summer.
I’ve only started seeing them pop up over the last few weeks, but they are certainly here now, after staying in neighboring states the last few years. Thanks for the tip on the milkweed, I’ll have to find some spots in my yard to plant it.
We had them last year in South Jersey. Picked a couple nests off the back wall of the house. Had a few this summer too. Grrrr.
The sleeve and waist stripes are reminiscent of the Carolina Hurricanes’ red and white sweaters … the difference being that the Hurricanes use the space between for the storm warning flags. (Speaking of the Hurricanes, I wonder if they wear black helmets and breezers with the now-alternate red sweaters or do they go red like they have since the beginning in Raleigh?)
I’ve often wondered if the law firm portrayed in “Boston Legal” was named after Ed Kranepool and (maybe) Mike Schmidt…though David E. Kelley may in fact be a Red Sox fan(?).
I applaud the reduction of black for the Sharks new uniforms, and don’t miss the orange at all.
These bolster my opinion that the every NHL team looks better when wearing their white sweaters.
Paul, very nice timing of the Ed Kranepool meetup with one of your Ask Anything questions today! Meant to be!!
Is this set for this year or next year? I’d previously heard it was for 2023-24.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who liked the slight orange trim!
Hockey sweaters should always have belly stripes and contrasting pants, so 3 out of 4 stars from me. I am fine without the orange, it’s a Duck color, not a Shark color.
Orange is a Flyer color.
To each their own of course, but I like the Sharks’ new set much better without the orange stripes. Always looked out of place to me, almost like it was a mistake. Something about the teal and orange shades being a strange combination to my eyes, particularly since there was so little orange to begin with. I go back and forth on the black pants vs teal with the home set. I think the teal pants with striping makes it quite nice, but I agree there’s something to be said for the contrast.
Maybe it’s just my eyes but it looks like the shade of teal might have changed up a bit too. Throughout its history SJ’s teal has drifted towards a darker, greener version. This looks like a return to the lighter, bluer hue. Overall I’m a fan. Don’t mind losing the orange, but I do wish there were black pants on the homes.
I liked the orange too, definitely popped on the home whites especially. I always felt it made sense and wasn’t out of place because it looks to be close (or the same) as the color of the hockey stick in the logo. Overall, they still look good to me.
A retro move, subtracting the accent color (which is still in the insignia), the featureless breezers, and the lack of a waist stripe. The wavy stitches in the stripes are a nice touch.
Weren’t the Sharks the team that said it lighted the sweater when they removed the bottom stripes? Big improvement over the current set but they should have kept the orange trim.
The teal pants are perfect with the road uniforms, but the home uniforms need the contrasting pants. Too much teal.
Similar to what the Avalanche did last season when they replaced the black helmet/pants combo for blue, which I feel was a huge improvement. I feel the same about the Sharks ditching the black pants/helmet and the orange trim
Wish the Dallas Stars would go this road uni route and wear green shorts with their away whites instead of black – would pop so much more than this:
The current Dallas Stars uniforms feel like they had been influenced by North Dakota in college hockey. North Dakota has what you are looking for. They wear black pants and helmets with the green jerseys but green pants with white uniforms.
I would just like to see the Stars go with green helmets, pants and gloves both at home and on the road. I would also be in favour of some minimal change like just green helmets with the green uniforms.
Don’t mind the teal pants at all, maybe mixed it up once in a while with some black ones. At least the ridiculous orange is gone. Too bad there won’t be anymore Teal and Orange unit in any league, lol.
Teal is not a color it is a color substitute.
Those Spotted Lanternflies have been found in 2 counties here in WV. Burn em all.
PS. Miss yall! Life gets crazy, but we always return to UW.
The pants are teal not deal. But overall a good look for the Sharks.
“Now awful”??
Did you mean “Not”
Yes. Fixed.
*also…”love the deal pants”
Did you mean “teal”
Yes. Fixed.
Spotted Lanternflies?? Sounds like a Uni design contest in the making :-)
I love the road whites, but the Sharks’ home set really needs the black pants. Too much teal.
Agreed. It’s funny how far little elements go in their look. The teal breezers pair really well for road games with the white sweaters but that leaves you with mono-teal at home unless you add black breezers. And since you don’t waste money on things you can’t sell, black breezers would be a waste.
Same for the orange stripes. At best a 4th color in their old set but it really worked.
+1
God save the ticket stub!!!
Side note: spotted lantern flies are everywhere (including Heinz Field’s pedestrian ramps in Pittsburgh), but the good news is nature is figuring out that these invasive things are tasty and are now on their menus. -C.
When I heard about the leak from the Sharks I thought that is going to be a lot of teal. After seeing the uniforms on the ice in the photos I am surprised that I do like the uniforms with the teal equipment and it’s an upgrade over their old look. The jersey definitely an upgrade with waist stripes, better shoulder patch, faux collar lacing Adidas does is gone, I like seeing the orange trim go. Like there is pant striping.
Hoping this will inspire the Dallas Stars to make a move to all green with the addition of green equipment.
I was thinking the same thing about the all teal combo–but on the ice? My mind started to shift. I’m not all the way there yet of saying I like it, but I’m a Sharks fan and I intend to suffer along with the team all year long, so I’ll have a lot of time to see if I can get to a point of like.
Unlike a lot of Sharks fans, who really despised the orange, I never minded it, even liking its amped-up usage, particularly on the white jersey. But I find myself okay with its absence here. I am still fond of the gray as an accent color from the original uniform set and feel like that could have been utilized here (and while gray is an odd accent color, it does make sense since sharks themselves can be gray) to add that little bit of contrast that’s missing.
Nevertheless, this is certainly a big step up, and I’m excited to see it on the ice. Hopefully without ad patches to ruin it.
The Sharks unichange has similarities to the 2009 uni change of the Jags, the emphasis of teal and a reduction of secondary and/or accent colors
I guess I would consider it an upgrade. IMO the Sharks have one of the worst (if not the worst) jerseys in the NHL. I just hate teal as a color for sports uniforms. They definitely need to consider black or blue pants. The whites are not that bad due to the lesser use of the teal.
I really like the Sharks’ new look, especially the classic striping on the jersey and pants. And I’m good with the mono look — to me, the black pants and helmets on the prior set just watered down the whole design. For me, this is a big step-up.
Paul, hope you stomped or otherwise killed as many of those bugs as possible last night.
They’ve started showing up in South Jersey and are quite the nuisance.
I suppose the spread of laternflies is better than murder hornets?
I saw only one spotted lantern fly in Stone Harbor this summer and squashed it. Same while passing through Delaware.
Harrisburg/Hershey are filled with them – I killed a lot the other weekend at my in-laws.
Apparently, the best defense against SLFs is milkweed. As a bonus, milkweed is a monarch butterflies habitat and they need all the help they can get. We’re looking at planting some here in Alexandria because we’re expecting SLFs next summer.
I’ve only started seeing them pop up over the last few weeks, but they are certainly here now, after staying in neighboring states the last few years. Thanks for the tip on the milkweed, I’ll have to find some spots in my yard to plant it.
We had them last year in South Jersey. Picked a couple nests off the back wall of the house. Had a few this summer too. Grrrr.
The sleeve and waist stripes are reminiscent of the Carolina Hurricanes’ red and white sweaters … the difference being that the Hurricanes use the space between for the storm warning flags. (Speaking of the Hurricanes, I wonder if they wear black helmets and breezers with the now-alternate red sweaters or do they go red like they have since the beginning in Raleigh?)
I’ve often wondered if the law firm portrayed in “Boston Legal” was named after Ed Kranepool and (maybe) Mike Schmidt…though David E. Kelley may in fact be a Red Sox fan(?).
I applaud the reduction of black for the Sharks new uniforms, and don’t miss the orange at all.
These bolster my opinion that the every NHL team looks better when wearing their white sweaters.
Paul, very nice timing of the Ed Kranepool meetup with one of your Ask Anything questions today! Meant to be!!
Is this set for this year or next year? I’d previously heard it was for 2023-24.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who liked the slight orange trim!
Hockey sweaters should always have belly stripes and contrasting pants, so 3 out of 4 stars from me. I am fine without the orange, it’s a Duck color, not a Shark color.
Orange is a Flyer color.
To each their own of course, but I like the Sharks’ new set much better without the orange stripes. Always looked out of place to me, almost like it was a mistake. Something about the teal and orange shades being a strange combination to my eyes, particularly since there was so little orange to begin with. I go back and forth on the black pants vs teal with the home set. I think the teal pants with striping makes it quite nice, but I agree there’s something to be said for the contrast.
Maybe it’s just my eyes but it looks like the shade of teal might have changed up a bit too. Throughout its history SJ’s teal has drifted towards a darker, greener version. This looks like a return to the lighter, bluer hue. Overall I’m a fan. Don’t mind losing the orange, but I do wish there were black pants on the homes.
I liked the orange too, definitely popped on the home whites especially. I always felt it made sense and wasn’t out of place because it looks to be close (or the same) as the color of the hockey stick in the logo. Overall, they still look good to me.
A retro move, subtracting the accent color (which is still in the insignia), the featureless breezers, and the lack of a waist stripe. The wavy stitches in the stripes are a nice touch.
Weren’t the Sharks the team that said it lighted the sweater when they removed the bottom stripes? Big improvement over the current set but they should have kept the orange trim.
The teal pants are perfect with the road uniforms, but the home uniforms need the contrasting pants. Too much teal.
Similar to what the Avalanche did last season when they replaced the black helmet/pants combo for blue, which I feel was a huge improvement. I feel the same about the Sharks ditching the black pants/helmet and the orange trim
Wish the Dallas Stars would go this road uni route and wear green shorts with their away whites instead of black – would pop so much more than this:
link
The current Dallas Stars uniforms feel like they had been influenced by North Dakota in college hockey. North Dakota has what you are looking for. They wear black pants and helmets with the green jerseys but green pants with white uniforms.
link
I would just like to see the Stars go with green helmets, pants and gloves both at home and on the road. I would also be in favour of some minimal change like just green helmets with the green uniforms.
Don’t mind the teal pants at all, maybe mixed it up once in a while with some black ones. At least the ridiculous orange is gone. Too bad there won’t be anymore Teal and Orange unit in any league, lol.
Teal is not a color it is a color substitute.
Those Spotted Lanternflies have been found in 2 counties here in WV. Burn em all.
PS. Miss yall! Life gets crazy, but we always return to UW.
Always good to hear from you, Coleman!