The Bruins and Penguins officially released their jerseys (but not the full uniforms, grrrr) for this season’s Winter Classic, which will take place at Fenway Park in Boston.
I already discussed the Bruins jersey when it leaked a few days ago. Here’s a partial glimpse of the back of the jersey, which looks pretty straightforward:
As for Pittsburgh’s design, it’s derived from the old Pittsburgh Pirates, an early NHL team from the 1920s whose sweater featured a big diagonal “P”:
That “P” was the inspiration for the letter on the Penguins’ Winter Classic jersey design (additional info here):
Here’s a glimpse at the back of the jersey, which like the front crest, features topstitched-felt graphics for that retro feel:
Remember, this season’s Winter Classic will be played on Jan. 2, not Jan. 1. The league is deviating from its usual New Year’s Day event because Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday, so they don’t want the Winter Classic to conflict with NFL games.
Penguins uni is an instant classic!
I like Boston’s jersey okay, but that Pens one is gorgeous. And it’s all in the small detail of the number and logo stitching. That triangular design designed to look like the Pittsburgh bridges?? That’s so niche and subtle, but I love it. I HATE the Pens as a team, but I definitely want that jersey.
Agree!
I hate the Penguins but from an aesthetics perspective, that’s a great sweater. They should have put the city crest on the shoulders like the Pirates did back then.
This is absolute rock-bottom when it comes to uniforms for this winter classic. This is what happens when you have the same teams over and over and over again.
i always love the winter classic sweaters. i just wish adidas would ditch their awful collar template. i am not fine with it on any of the jerseys, but in particular, it ruins a jersey that is supposed to look old school.
So the NHL has a dart board with six teams on it that they use to pick who goes into the Winter Classic?
The problem with having the same teams in it multiple times is that it becomes a parody of itself with the rehashing of old uniforms. I like them a lot, but it’s getting a boring, and with each successive Bruins or Penguins uniform that comes out for the Winter Classic, the lot of them get less interesting; they get worse as a collection, and would be so much better as individuals.
And maybe the Stadium Series is affecting this. Whereas MLB and NBA special edition jerseys (City Connect, etc) are overwhelming, it’s starting to feel that way for outdoor games in the NHL.
I don’t really understand this take. 19 NHL teams have played in either a Winter Classic or Heritage Classic (which has essentially the same aesthetic). That’s over half the league. And of course, both of these events are meant to show off “old-time hockey”, so teams younger than the WHA absorption aren’t really appropriate anyway (though the league did apparently find Nashville worthy, for whatever reason).
Secondly, this Penguins jersey doesn’t look remotely like anything the Pens have ever worn before, and it’s only superficially similar to one of the Pirates’ jerseys (similar – but not identical – striping design with a different primary color and different primary logo). The Penguins have worn three entirely different uniforms for their three Winter Classic appearances. So the “rehashing of old uniforms” accusation isn’t really true either.
I understand. However, this is Boston’s fourth appearance, and Pittsburgh’s third. My point really is that with each repeat appearance the novelty of a historical jersey wears more and more off. Take Nashville and Dallas in 2020: Two fresh teams showing us something new from their history, and they were great (in my opinion). But we’ve done all the considering with Boston and Pittsburgh, so there is little left to imagine and that takes a bit of the fun out of it.
Now, I like both sweaters. But they don’t have the same impact as if we were actually seeing a new team represented.
Topstitched numbers is the term we’ve been needing to correctly describe this style. I never get tired of it and I do like seeing the different patterns that are used. The squiggly one the Leafs used was a common pattern. I haven’t seen this style before on vintage jerseys but it does look really good.
If you’d asked me to rank the distinctive elements of the Pirates sweater, the P would have been at the bottom.
Boiler Up! I mean go Penguins..
I remember Paul writing about the unique serifs on the “P” that the Pittsburgh Pirates use. The “P” they’re using for this jersey and the its inspiration have similar stubby serifs on the top and larger/different one on the base. Interesting Pittsburgh-specific uniform element.
Anyone know what color helmet the Penguins are going with for the WC (with this jersey) ?
Gotta be white
Boston is perfect, Pittsburgh could have used a little more gold and and a splash of baby blue around the arms and the waist.