Subj : Edmonton Oilers Jersey History
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers - Main
Date : Tue Jan 26 2021 04:40 am
The National Hockey League version of the Edmonton Oilers has always been an
all-or-nothing team. For their first 13 seasons - starting in 1979-80, the
Oilers made the playoffs every single year, winning five Stanley Cups and only
losing in the first round on three occasions. Star players were sprinkled
throughout the Edmonton roster, from goaltenders Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog, to
defenseman Paul Coffey, to forwards Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier
and the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Anderson. Any
questions? (The Hockey Writers)
For the next 23 seasons, the Oilers made the playoffs seven times, winning only
five playoff rounds - three of which came in their improbable run to Game 7 of
the Stanley Cup Final in the chaos that was the post-lockout 2005-06 campaign.
After that magical Cup run, Edmonton missed the postseason for ten consecutive
years.
Thankfully, they were able to end that tough stretch the following year, as
they put up 103 points during the 2016-17 regular season which was good enough
for second place in the Pacific Division. Though they lost out in the second
round to the Anaheim Ducks, it appeared they were well on their way to becoming
a dynasty once again.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case. They missed the playoffs the
following two seasons by a significant margin, before once again finishing
second place in the Pacific Division in 2019-20. While they certainly have
elite top end talent, they are team that lacks any type of depth and as a
result has many doubting they are contenders of any sort.Dynastic Duds
Much like their franchise fortunes (insert Peter Pocklington joke here), the
Oilers' uniform history has been up and down, as well. It started off so
promisingly, with the kits made popular during their dynastic years lasting,
relatively unadulterated (save for a lightening of the blue and some tweaks to
the font) until the end of the 1995-96 campaign.Illustration by Andrew M.
Greenstein, (The unofficial NHL Uniform Database)
Wow, what a thing of beauty. A soft, comforting blue with just enough sharp
orange trim to create the perfect balance of professional poise and
eye-catching good looks. Are the colours menacing? No. Is the logo ferocious?
No. But then again, they didn't need to be; facing the Oilers was intimidating
enough.
A classic three-stripe pattern graces the sleeves and tails of these
magnificent jerseys, with accented cuffs added for the road blues. The same
simple, pleasing pattern is continued on the pants and socks. Of particular
note is the way the shoulder yokes flow into the jersey collar, with the
innermost colour of the yoke leading to the inside of the collar, while the
yoke's trim seamlessly becomes the collar's outermost border. This two-tone
collar also gives me pause in my omnipresent desire to see lace-up collars; in
this instance, the V-neck just…works.
My only complaint would be the numbering, as I generally don't like offset trim
on the numbers. To me, the flush alignment of number and trim looks cleaner
and more polished, but these are small potatoes in an otherwise excellent
dish.Dark Times in Oil Country
But all good things must come to an end, and the Edmonton dynasty was no
different. By 1996-97, the team had changed its colours to the darker, drabber
midnight blue and copper colour scheme, while adding a mysterious oil worker,
known as "Rigger" as a secondary logo. The following season, the shoulder yokes
were dropped from the home whites - having not been included on the redesigned
dark away jerseys, completing the home and away kit for the next
decade.Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, (The unofficial NHL Uniform
Database)
Truth be told, I actually quite like this iteration of the Oilers uniforms.
Yes, in one of the loudest, brightest fashion decades on record, the Oilers
chose a colour palette that makes Scandinavian police dramas look cheery. But
given the NHL's coming emphasis on dark, dreary uniforms, maybe it was just a
design ahead of its time. The copper and blue just seem to…fit. I can't
explain it, it's just rather good. I also can't explain why the copper striping
is trimmed with red.
The Oilers kept their traditional striping pattern, save for the pants, which
were simply solid midnight blue. Unfortunately, they also retained the offset
font trim, and the once-lovely collar area looked odd and out of place with no
shoulder yoke flowing around it. The Rigger is also a weird touch. Seems like a
secondary logo for the sake of having a secondary logo (see also: Bruins,
Boston). The Oilers have one of the best, most timeless logos in the entire
NHL. Not really sure what they were going for with this secondary…ST. LOUIS -
MARCH 4: Left wing Ryan Smyth #94 of the Edmonton Oilers is on the ice during
the game against the St. Louis Blues at the Savvis Center on March 2, 2004 in
St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
…and I'm really�not sure what they were going for with the so-called "Oil
Drop" jersey, designed by then co-owner Todd McFarlane�and debuted in 2001-02.
A midnight blue backdrop trimmed with silver and white is not exactly the most
inspiring colour scheme. Nor is the logo, a giant, metallic oil drop with five
sprockets and five rivets, symbolising the Oilers' five Stanley Cups. There is
another chunk of metal on the shoulders, with some more mechanical stuff and an
Oilers wordmark.
This uniform did have a classic slim-thick-slim sleeve and sock striping
setup…which was sliced in half for the tail section, rendering an already
bland, colourless, downright depressing uniform wholly asymmetrical, as well.
Even the lace-up collar doesn't seem to belong; it seems too soft, too loving,
too classic for this hard, soulless jersey.Edge of Reason
Mercifully, the advent of the Reebok Edge uniform system�saw the end of the Oil
Drop era, and the standard home and away (blue and white, respectively, since
the 2003-04 reversal of protocol) uniforms were redesigned. And much like the
team's fortunes, nothing much changed.Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein,
(The unofficial NHL Uniform Database)
The Oilers went full-bore into Reebok Edge, doing away with tail striping and
replacing it with thing vertical piping that tapered towards the top,
intersecting with captaincy patches along the way. The sleeve and sock striping
changed to a slim-thick-slim pattern, but the sleeve stripes didn't even make
it all the way around the arm. And it's not as though the gap was under the arm
where nobody could see; the missing link was on the outside of the sleeve,
just under the numbers. Madness!A close-up shot of major elements of the
futility of this Oilers uniform iteration. (Icon SMI)
The chunky, one-tone collar, vertical piping on the jersey and pants, and the
lack of tail stripes - not to mention the lack of completed stripes anywhere on
the jersey - make this iteration of the Edmonton uniform kit reminiscent of an
off-brand jersey from Walmart. Not to mention the font trim was still offset
and the mysterious red trim still clung like a remora to the copper sections of
the uniform. To say this was a glorified practice jersey would be an
understatement.Back to the Future
Thankfully, someone in the Oilers organisation came to their senses in time for
the 2008-09 season, reintroducing an updated version of the Oilers' dynastic
kit into the team's uniform rotation. By the 2012-13 season (I guess it was
just 2013? Whatever. Not the point.), Edmonton had switched over to this
vintage look - for both jerseys - on a full-time basis. In 2015-16, they added
an alternate kit, which pays homage to the World Hockey Association tenure of
the franchise.Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, (The unofficial NHL Uniform
Database)
The home and away kits of this new uniform set largely mirror the Oilers'
original NHL cuts. The only substantive difference is the collar, which kind of
sticks out like a sore thumb. Part of this is due to the fact it does not
taper down to a "V", but instead sees its two sides connected by a flat bottom.
As such, there is no flow from the shoulder yoke trim around the collar,
resulting in a choppy viewing experience. Other than that, the throwback design
is a welcome sight, even if the offset number trim has not been addressed.
But it is the alternate kit of this uniform set that really draws the eye.
Harkening back nearly a half-century, the orange-based jersey has
slim-thick-slim striping action on the sleeves and tail. The familiar shoulder
yokes also make an appearance, though this time accompanied by the numbers one
would normally find on an NHL jersey's sleeve.Orange Overload
And that's where the problem comes to light: this jersey was just far
too…orange. The orange background is a neat idea, even if Oilers orange is a
tone too harsh. But the numbers, because they are enclosed within the blue
shoulder yoke, have to be orange as well, in order to stand out. As a result,
the orange background of the jersey is unbroken, leading to the entire kit
appearing washed out. This condition is not helped by the collar, which is
composed of two orange stripes sandwiching one blue bit. It's just too much
orange.Oilers orange Reeboks (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)
Why not put the numbers halfway down the sleeve, like everyone else in the
world? Then they would be blue, and help to balance out an obnoxiously bright
design. I really hope the shoulder numbers don't catch on in hockey, like that
idiotic idea of putting a tiny jersey number on the front of the jersey from a
few years back (sorry, Buffalo).
Thankfully, the collar is V-shaped (though its pieces overlap, rather than
being joined at the centre. The asymmetry is maddening). And kudos to the
Oilers for ensuring their font trim is flush with their numbering and
lettering. But neither of these improvements is enough to save us from the
overload of orange.Change in Brand
After that first season of Edmonton wearing their orange jerseys, the NHL
announced a seven-year jersey deal with Adidas, which ended their partnership
with Reebok. Despite what many had hoped when this deal was announced however,
they chose to keep the Oilers orange jersey, though they did make some changes
to it.
The orange was noticeably lighter on this jersey, while the blue was darkened
significantly, similar to the blue they had from 1996-2012. Though it wasn';t
the change back to the blue uniforms many Oilers fans had wished, the majority
seemed to agree that these were a step up from the Reebok sweaters they dawned
the prior season.
The Oilers are still wearing these same orange jerseys as of the 2020-21
season, though they have a few new sweaters as well. Prior to the 2019-20
season, Adidas launched an Oilers third jersey, which is quite different than
any past jersey they';ve worn. The dark blue from their orange jersey is the
base color of this uniform, while the same orange forms a solid stripe along
the bottom, as well as two stripes on the arms. Edmonton Oilers uniforms
2019-21 (Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, The unofficial NHL Uniform
Database)
One noticeable change from these compared to their current orange uniforms is
that they decided to keep the shoulders the same dark blue color as the base of
the jersey, which resulted in many finding the jersey plain and boring.
Yet another new Oilers jersey was created by Adidas prior to the 2020-21 season
as part of their reverse retro series. Though the Oilers sweaters aren';t as
creative as some, they went back to their white jerseys similar to what they
wore in the 1980';s, but flipped the orange and blue colors. Edmonton Oilers
Reverse Retro jersey (NHL/adidas)
This jersey seemed to have a wide variety of opinions, but individually
speaking, they are pretty sharp. Given that the Oilers are currently just seven
games into the season, they have not yet been worn, but should be making their
debut in the near future.Rich History
The Oilers jerseys are somewhat consistent to the teams play over the years, in
that their best jerseys were without a doubt during the 1980';s, which was
also the best their team has ever been. Though in the last 10-15 years they
have went through some dark times, both their uniforms and on ice talent appear
to be trending in the right direction.
The post Edmonton Oilers Jersey History appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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