Fansided

The NHL is playing it safe with the 2020 All-Star jerseys

By Kyle McKenna

SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 and goaltender Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals pose together during warm-ups prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 and goaltender Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals pose together during warm-ups prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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It’s apparent that the NHL is holding back on producing appealing jersey designs for All-Star games for controversial reasons.

While most sports fans alike won’t pay attention to the NFL’s Pro Bowl or its uniforms on Jan. 26, most can appreciate the annual All-Star Game for the NHL.

The contest’s three-on-three tournament-style format is nothing short of exciting and has flowed well since the dynamic changed for the festive weekend back in 2015-16.

That doesn’t mean that hockey’s loyal fans should or will appreciate the NHL’s All-Star jerseys for 2020, which is hosted by the St. Louis Blues this winter the weekend of Jan. 24 and 25.

The Blues officially released the “home” and away” sweater designs and the context behind the jerseys on Wednesday, but this hockey enthusiast wasn’t impressed.

At first glance, the jerseys appear similar to the New York Islanders’ black alternate jerseys that were supposed to be a nod towards skating out of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn from 2015-16 until 2016-17. The sweaters are forgettable, to say the least, in Islanders’ history, and the 2020 All-Star jerseys are no better.

The jerseys aren’t terrible, but for a festive event with a decorative sport such as hockey — the layout and design are too safe. The stripes on the sweater are supposed to represent “a musical staff along the front and the jerseys in a bit of a nod to the St Louis Blues jersey of the mid-to-late 1990s,” per Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.

(Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
(Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images) /

While that concept sounds intriguing, it’s far from a nod to those actual Blues’ jerseys that were reintroduced and took to the ice earlier this season as a throwback night in St. Louis. Instead of those colorful and unique nods in hockey history that the NHL and St. Louis should have portrayed, fans are left with grey and white uniforms.

https://twitter.com/FanSidedNHL/status/1197684037135077377

Thankfully, the league strayed away from using the NHL crest for the primary logo on the sweaters, and players for the second-straight year can proudly represent their respective cities during the game.

Still, to make matters worse — the two-tone color scheme for every team’s logo is bad. It’s cheap and portrays an incomplete appearance. The chances are that the league wants the simplest and cheapest jersey designs to print off as many sweaters as possible to increase a profit.

https://twitter.com/adidashockey/status/1214968853978992640

It makes sense from a business perspective. But the All-Star jerseys from the past during that same era when the Blues wore the diagonal stripe jerseys portrayed more personality and represented the sport’s unique style on the ice than what we have today.

Next. Why the 2020 Winter Classic holds Stanley Cup Final implications. dark

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