Power ranking the NHL’s alternate jerseys for the 2019-20 season
By Kyle McKenna
18. Tampa Bay Lightning
It’s not quite as bad as Edmonton, but the Tampa Bay Lightning’s black alternate sweater is forgettable, to say the least. The jersey was unveiled late last season and was a huge letdown.
Again, we doubt Adidas is getting cheap on us here, especially if you look around the league at some other commendable sweaters – but what’s with the retail-themed appearance? This design doesn’t belong on an NHL ice sheet.
Truthfully, if an NCAA Division I team wore this as a third jersey – it would be acceptable. However, a team that rebranded itself to portray a classier appearance shouldn’t be wearing a sweater that’s trying to start a trend and reinvent the wheel.
Tampa owns some of the best jerseys in the league and there was an opportunity to do something better entering last season. Having the base color as black is essentially a tradition for the Lightning’s alternate jerseys once the team rebranded in 2011, but these debacles are just asking to be retired already.
Add in a couple of thin stripes – perhaps one white and another blue; ditch the fade up the sleeves; plus keep the primary logo white…and then you’re at least working with something worthy of being called an alternate sweater at the NHL level.
Plus, the Lightning unveiled these dark stormed-themed sweaters well after Carolina did with its new black alternate in the 2018-19 season.
The truth is that NHL fans alike expected better, and practice jerseys shouldn’t be that expensive at the official team store anyway.
Until the next third jersey, Tampa.