Channelling Mr. Blackwell

After taking a look at the whole package of the new uniforms and logos and taking some time to digest them, I have what really amounts to a mixed review.

First of all, I like that the Caps are returning to Red, White, and Blue. In the quote packages the Caps sent out; they quoted Khornball who was dead right when he said in 1995 that the Caps should wear Red, White, and Blue. So what Montreal and the Rangers have been wearing the same colors since they started in the NHL? It isn't as if the Caps can go out and create brand new colors exclusive to themselves.


The "blank" jersey itself I think looks pretty good. I like the design of it and while they did give into some of the modern styles of vertical and curved lines, they didn't do something as garish as the original Caps jerseys. Don't get me wrong, I like the old school stuff but it had a very 1970's design that I don't think holds up very well. I think because the Caps avoided some of the extremes that you see today (Oregon football comes to mind) that this jersey can last a long time. The only gripe I have is that the bottom of the red jersey could use a block of white underneath the blue piping to help it stand out more.


The logos however are going to take a very long time to grow on me, if ever. First of all let's look at the chest/primary logo:

Courtesy of the Washington Capitals

Ok as I've said before, I think this logo just looks stupid. I understand that it is an "update" of the original logo but what made the original logo work was that it was simple. While the original jersey design screamed 1970's, the logo itself didn't. This writing here comes across as what is currently passing for "space age" which isn't going to hold up in my opinion. Where the original "T" hockey stick looked like a hockey stick, this new "T" hockey stick barely pulls that off. As a matter of fact, you wouldn't know it was a hockey stick a first glance despite the blade being more realistic.

Oh and good job telling everybody that the three stars represent the District of Columbia, the People's Republic of Maryland, and Virginia. It is only a matter of time before the fans in the PRMD demand that their star be bigger than D.C. and VA's because they are where the real Caps fans are...

Now for the shoulder/secondary logo:

Swiped from On Frozen Blog

Look familiar? Ok, that was a cheapshot joke that everybody else is doing, but I'm not above doing that...

Here the Caps once again come up with a great secondary/shoulder logo. The Dome logo was great on the shoulder but didn't do very well IMHO as the main logo on the jersey. I think the same dynamic applies here. This a logo that will look good in a smaller size on the shoulder of the jersey and maybe on hats. The subtleties of the logo however will be lost should you try to enlarge it and make it the primary logo. The only problem with putting this logo on a hat is that the Nats have got the market cornered on "W" hats with their curly W.

The numbering and lettering on the jersey is certainly easier to read and not as fancy as what the Caps were just using (though I did like the font). However, in the photos the Caps sent around, the lettering needs to be bigger to make them easier to read which was a catalyst in the uniform overhaul to begin with. The blue pants are ok, (why not bring back the stars on the pants?) though the socks make the pants look longer than they really are. I'm curious as to why the Caps chose blue helmets to wear at home. Are they really channeling the Canadiens and Rangers?

So are these as bad as the Buffaslug? Certainly not but I think they had a better idea with the crash diving eagle than they did with this futuristic nonsense. I applaud resisting the temptation to stylize a "D.C." logo as well. Also bear in mind there may be some tinkering with things before the team hits the ice in October which is what happened with the last uniform switch. It was mentioned in the (Com)Post yesterday at the end of the article that the last rejected design is likely to be used as a third jersey in the future. I almost shudder to think what was rejected in favor of these. However time will tell and we'll get to bash those in due time.