By now, you may have heard that Adidas will be the official supplier for the NHL next season and in order to make the transition from Reebok to Adidas as smooth as possible, teams won’t be allowed to have an alternate jersey in 2017-18. Teams will only have a home and a road jersey next season, meaning the Blues have a difficult decision ahead of them.
Should the Blues abandon their current home/road jerseys in favor of those worn at the Winter Classic?
The old alternates (the dark navy ones) were always expected to be phased out and the Winter Classic jerseys seemed to be well on their way to replacing the old ones. Now that the league won’t allow alternates for at least a season (they’ll likely return in 2018-19), the Blues could make a big switch and fully embrace the Winter Classic jerseys which were so well received. If they want to use that look beyond the current season, that’s the road they would have to take.
Teams around the NHL have to decide which direction they want to go. Some will maintain their current home/road look. Others will likely promote their alternates to their new regular look while a handful will overhaul their entire design. The Blues could easily abandon their current home/road look and use the Winter Classic design before unveiling a new alternate after 2017-18.
From a business perspective, making a big change makes a lot of sense. Rolling out a new home/road look (even if it is a familiar one from the Winter Classic) will boost merchandise sales. Following that up with a new alternate in a year or two will only add on to that.
Will the iconic Adidas stripes make an appearance? Probably, but it remains to be seen how they will be incorporated on whichever jersey design the Blues choose.
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