If it ain't broke...

According to sources in the B’s dressing room, Reebok has been unable to correct problems with the new jerseys introduced this season across the NHL and will replace them at the company’s expense with new uniforms made of the old materials.

Players have complained since training camp that the new jerseys, which are supposed to be lighter and allow sweat to evaporate out through the shirts, have instead trapped water inside and gotten heavier.

- Boston Herald

Oh, the irony.

I'm guessing going back to the old fabric won't make the jerseys any cheaper for the fans.

Hockeyrama Season Predictions, sponsored by Reebok

The playing field is even this year, as every team introduces the new RBK Edge uniform system. To honor this great achievement in hockey technology, Hockeyrama has made it's predictions for the 07-08 season using only new jerseys as the criteria to evaluate the 30 NHL teams.

So with no further adieu, here's a division by division breakdown:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Islanders

The Atlantic is anyone's race, well, except the Islanders. No one really hit a home run. While the curved hem makes the Rangers look like they forgot to tuck in their jerseys, for better or for worse they did their best to maintain their classic look. That will help them eke out a division title if they don't get to distracted by the Pens oversized '250' shoulder patch or the construction sign orange shoulders of the Flyers' road Jersey.

Northeast Division
Montreal Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres
Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs

There's really only two teams contending in the Northeast: Montreal and Buffalo. A battle of the new and old guard, if you will. The Canadiens are perhaps the only Original Six team to come out of the redesign unscathed. They should make quick work of their other division rivals. The Sabres, on the other hand, will be another story. We all made fun of these young guns last year when they introduced the Buffaslug, but they were building for the future. Turns out Buffalo was wearing the RBK Edge jerseys the whole time right under our nose.

Southeast Division
Washington Capitals
Tampa Bay Lightning
Carolina Hurricanes
Atlanta Thrashers
Florida Panthers

Dispelling the notion "you're not always as good as you look", the Capitals are Hockeyrama's pick to win the Cup. Washington went retro this year and came up with something more Ovechkin's style. The flashy Caps will roll over their Southeast rivals before commencing the pose-off which is the Stanley Cup playoffs. And this team will have no trouble turning left.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
Columbus Blue Jackets
St. Louis Blues

Fortunately, Wirtz was too cheap to mess with a good thing. and so the Blackhawks' uniforms - like their Original Six counterparts - remain unchanged. That's enough to edge Chicago past the Red Wings, who employed the same strategy going into the new season. The rest of the Central will put on an admirable show but ultimately succumb to old school chic.

Northwest Division
Calgary Flames
Minnesota Wild
Edmonton Oilers
Colorado Avalance
Vancouver Canucks

It's a two-horse race in the Northwest: the tough, bold look of the look of Flames vs. the well-executed but identity-less Wild. Carried by the Canadian flags affixed to their shoulders, Calgary will take the division and claw their way to the Stanley Cup final. But as if to simply prove the '94 Rangers were a fluke, the Flames will ultimately fall to the Washington Captials, leaving only 23 more teams to try their luck with Iron Mike.

Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks
Dallas Stars
Phoenix Coyotes
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks

With a new look last year, the Ducks brought home their first Stanley Cup. In order to repeat, they'll need to adapt to the changes a new season brings without messing up their recipe for success. So far so good. Their new Reebok rags almost mask the fact they're dropping the puck this year without Niedermayer or Selanne. Anaheim's biggest competition in the Pacific will be the Stars, who bucked convention by putting "Dallas" across their home jerseys. The Coyotes and Kings haven't done much to improve themselves this season, but a few easy points over the Sharks, who went from the coolest Jerseys in the league to college cast-offs, should help.


Special thanks to the NHL Tournament of Logos photo gallery.

Fight vs. fashion

“I practice all summer to be a good fighter and now they have this new jersey.”

- Jaromir Jagr

A little tounge-in-cheek from Jags but apparently the RBK Edge System seems to be a hit with everyone except the goons. The snug sweaters don't have a lot to grab hold of in a tussle - and they're even harder to wriggle out of should you get tied up, that is if they don't rip in half first.

Devils megapest Cam Janssen found this out the hard way in a scrap with the Flyers' Jesse Boulerice. He's now undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder, a previous condition aggrevated by getting his a** handed to him by Boulerice twice in one night. The good news for Devils fans is that New Jersey may now be forced to dress someone with some actual talent in Janssen's place.

AHL gets new threads too

We've been hearing about the new RBK Edge jerseys - sorry, i mean "uniform system" - that all 30 NHL teams are adopting. Did you know the AHL will be wearing the new sweaters as well?

The AHL has even been kind enough to put a gallery together. (And BTW, there's a nice gallery of the NHL jerseys here.)

Riddle me this: how can an AHL club (a league notorious for crappy duds) manage to do a better job than their NHL parent?

Yes, I'm talking about those awful Isles unis again. But do you blame me? Thanks to the NHL's rivalry-heavy schedule, I'm forced to stare at those ugly things 59 times this year. I'm might have to start following a team closer to home. Go Nucks!

Oh wait, did you see their jerseys?

Canucks Jersey Mashup

The Canucks introduced their new RBK Edge jersey this morning and it's a mashup.


I can't really call it a redesign because they simply combined their main and third jerseys and added Vancouver, lest anyone forget which team's on the ice.

Egad. At least Luongo left his mask alone.

So far I haven't been impressed with any of the redesigns, with the exception of the Capitals, who really just improved on their Iafrate-era unis.

New look Lightning

The RBK Edge jersey parade continues. Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled their new logo and duds:

Yawn.

Sens unveil new look

The Senators are the latest team to introduce their RBK Edge jerseys...and it's actually not bad. The throwback shoulder patch is a nice touch.

Ottawa opted to redesign not only the jersey but the logo as well. It wasn't a complete overhaul, but at least they look a little less like another (in)famous logo.

Rangers leave good enough alone

No, Glen Sather hasn't decided against signing Michael Peca.

Back in July, the Rangers' new unis were posted on the team's site and just as quickly disappeared. Luckily NHL Tournament of Logos grabbed the pics:


Just like I hoped. Same jersey, just a little slimmer.

And a distinct contrast to what happened across the East River. My eyes still hurt.

It looks like the Rangers are foregoing the Liberty jersey this year. I expect they'll intro a redesigned third next season.

Ouch, my eyes!

The Islanders unveiled their new RBK Edge jersey. It's not pretty and I'm not talking about DiPietro:


Wow, makes you miss the fisherman.

The Sabres jerseys grow on you in an arena football sort of way, but this is all over the place...neck tie, piping, chest numbers, two-tone sleeves. Adding the kitchen sink as well would have weighted the players down, which is not in keeping with the Edge design.

The Isles will debut the duds when they face the Rangers on September 24. Plenty of time for Avery to prepare a few jersey inspired insults.