Last night, it was officially announced that the Buffalo Sabres would be making their return to the NHL Winter Classic, 10 years after hosting the first. The Winter Classic is a chance for the NHL to sell more jerseys be a bit creative with team jersey design and take some risks. In the first Winter Classic, the Sabres and Penguins wore throwback jerseys. Since then, the teams have kept this retro aesthetic but created new designs.
I took this opportunity to showcase how I would design the jersey, keeping in mind the retro design choices but still creating a new jersey.
Home
Because of some weird deal the New York Rangers have with Madison Square Garden which prohibits them from hosting “home games” anywhere other than the Garden, the Sabres will be the “Home” team, though the game will be played in New York. Go figure. Anyway, this means the team will be wearing a full-color home jersey.
For obvious reasons, I chose the team’s original royal blue and gold colors and logo as a starting point. I like the thick gold stripe with white outline, it feels equally retro and modern. The stripe on the sleeves encases the numbers, while it is mirrored on the waist and the socks. The shield shoulder patch matches the ones from the original jerseys.
The helmet is royal blue to match the uniform, with the crossed sabres from the shield logo on the back. The lace collar is a two-tone gold and blue, as are the gloves and socks.
The final addition, the “Winter Classic” patch which was used in 2008 is used again to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the event.
Glamor shots!
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