Friends, Romans, Lightning fans, lend me your ears. I come to bury the third jersey, not to praise it.
On Tuesday morning Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on some of the plans Adidas has in the works for hockey uniforms. The company is set to become the official outfitter of the NHL next year.
A great number of fans are nervous about what that means for their team’s look going forward. The only examples of Adidas’ hockey kits were at this year’s World Cup of Hockey. It doesn’t seem like there will be a ton of changes in the first wave of jerseys.
One of the biggest impeding differences is the phasing out of third jerseys for the 2017-18 season. Some teams have some tough decisions to make when it comes to making alternate designs their primaries. Luckily for Lightning fans this means the temporary end to a tradition of ugly alternates.
The Lightning have come a long way in establishing themselves as one of the league’s premiere teams. They do a lot of things incredibly well. Third jerseys have never been one of them. One needs to look no further than these monstrosities from the 90s:
Judging by the number of the more recent alternate incarnations in the stands at Amalie Arena the alternates have their fair share of fans but some people have never quite been able to get on board. Third jerseys are likely to return once Adidas establishes themselves. While it is nice having a black uniform as an homage to franchise history this current thirds seem unfinished. The good news is the Lightning have a while to go back to black with a better look.
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