Hurricanes third jersey adds second flag for no good reason
By David Rouben
![RALEIGH, NC - APRIL 7: Elias Lindholm #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepares for a faceoff during an NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) RALEIGH, NC - APRIL 7: Elias Lindholm #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepares for a faceoff during an NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/29d45326be2407352c6bfe270b28683fd523d7b8e547e674a04f4f78b2febdff.jpg)
The Carolina Hurricanes unveiled their third jerseys for the 2018-19 season, and they were met with near unanimous disapproval.
When Adidas and the NHL partnered up for the 2017-18 season as the manufacturer for every team’s jersey, it came with one caveat — no third jerseys. They got rid of what was long a time-honored tradition for NHL fans and jersey collectors.
The NHL has reintroduced thirds for the 2018-19 season, and some teams are already eager to unveil theirs ahead of time. The Arizona Coyotes got in on the action, and it’s a nice throwback. While some thirds throughout history are infamous for being bad — the Buffaslug, the Canucks jersey that’s just a large V, or the Islanders fish sticks — there are others that have stood the test of time.
Unfortunately, for the Carolina Hurricanes, it looks like their thirds will fall into the former category.
They unveiled their new uniforms on social media, and it was almost universally panned:
Back In Black. #TakeWarning pic.twitter.com/6AIHwjhzSL
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) June 22, 2018
— Austin Sullivan (@Asully97) June 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/ZachZachary88/status/1010293537638895616
https://twitter.com/clarkmike36/status/1010299743900139520
My god that secondary Hurricanes logo is so bad
— Justin Losacco (@justinlosacco) June 22, 2018
Better look at the new Hurricanes thirds. That logo…it stinks! pic.twitter.com/V11sZe18DN
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/MasonAnimation/status/1010307643611799553
What on earth is that new hurricanes logo supposed to be
— miranda 🍭 (@slownight) June 22, 2018
How do you tweet out a video with the caption “Back in Black” and not even play “Back in Black?” And why is there an unnecessary second flag in the shape of a B?
It got worse when the Hurricanes tried to explain their new jerseys using science. But people on Twitter were having none of it:
Introducing the latest addition to the #Canes uniform collection
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) June 22, 2018
More Info » https://t.co/6EBtoHnGd6 #TakeWarning pic.twitter.com/pa602X0QHn
— Ricky (@StLadelphia) June 22, 2018
— James (@Butter434) June 22, 2018
As some Internet meteorologists have pointed out, the two flags are meant to signify a hurricane warning. However, not everybody’s going to get that. And if the hurricane warning is meant to intimidate teams around the league, it’s not going to work. They just came off of a season that saw them pick second overall and put everyone but Sebastian Aho on the trade market.
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This was supposed to be a momentous occasion for the Hurricanes. They just drafted Andrei Svechnikov to lead their next generation and to give their fans hope. But this reveal of their new third jerseys has instead made fans long for the days of the Hartford Whalers.