Greg WyshynskiESPN Nov 22, 2023 1:01pm ET4 minutes read
Producing Winter Classic jerseys for the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken posed a unique challenge for the NHL and Adidas.
Typically, the jerseys for the NHL’s annual outdoor game – taking place on January 1, 2024 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle – are influenced by nostalgia and reference the history of the teams involved in their designs. But Vegas and Seattle are the two most recent NHL expansion franchises, with the Golden Knights entering the league in 2017-18 and the Kraken in 2021-22.
They don’t have any NHL history.
The solution: The NHL and Adidas imagined what these teams would have worn if they existed in the 1910s or 1920s and worked with them to refine those looks.
“It’s a challenge to design products around these events that feel truly authentic because they’re not just for the players, but we’re really talking about the fans,” said Nic Corbett, director of sports marketing and hockey at Adidas. “They have to recognize Las Vegas or the Kraken when fans see these jerseys, and we believe they will. We’re excited to see how fans will talk about these jerseys because we know the players are excited about them.”
Jerseys worn by the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken during the Winter Classic on January 1, 2024.NHL
The Kraken had an advantage: From 1915 to 1924, a team played in Seattle – the Metropolitans. The Kraken’s Winter Classic sweaters are inspired by the jerseys worn by the Metropolitans in 1917 when they became the first U.S.-based team to win the Stanley Cup.
The Barber Pole stripes on the jersey have been updated in Kraken Midnight Blue, Ice Blue and Red Alert, with an off-white reminiscent of the type of textiles used a century ago.
The Kraken logo was expanded to resemble that of the Metropolitans. The tentacle located in the negative area of their “S” coat of arms was removed and replaced with the word “KRAKEN”, similar to the Metropolitans having the word “SEATTLE” in their coat of arms. According to Corbett, it was “very difficult” to place the letters just right.
“The ‘S’ on the front can only be so large. “You’re moving within pre-existing guardrails and it has to translate well on TV and in 2D, including spacing, and that’s a real specialist skill so that these designers and developers can get exactly the right angle on the word,” said he.
The Vegas jersey is not based on any that already exist. The gray “V” on the crest was inspired by the “V” in the negative space of the team’s main logo. It maintains the proportions and angles of this brand, but adds delicate petal accent shapes and a decorative chain stitch in a bow shape. This is meant to evoke the early days of showmanship in Las Vegas, but also the kind of lily you might find on a military pavement.
“You can see some braided patterns on the jersey. As you know, we always try to incorporate Mr. Foley and his connection to West Point into the story,” Corbett said of Golden Knights owner and West Point graduate Bill Foley.
The logos on both jerseys are made of felt, like an old college jacket.
While the Golden Knights’ regular jerseys feature a shimmering gold, the colors on their Winter Classic jersey have been intentionally muted.
“We refer to the gold you see as gold dust. It shimmers less. We wanted to have an Old West attitude, so the gold dusty color scheme is very special,” said Corbett. “And then the white in the jersey is really a vintage white. Also a kind of allusion to the Wild West.”
There is also a cursive “Vegas” on the back of the jersey and on the players’ shorts. The Golden Knights will wear gloves reminiscent of the brown leather look of hockey’s past, which other teams such as the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers have incorporated into their recent outdoor looks.
As is tradition with NHL jerseys, Easter eggs are incorporated into the neck collar. Seattle’s have “1917” written on them, in honor of the Metropolitans’ Stanley Cup victory. Vegas has seven stars waiting to mark Jan. 1, 2024, as the first day of the Golden Knights franchise’s seventh year.
To build buzz around the Winter Classic jerseys, the NHL and Adidas tried something new this season by having “influencers” wear the jerseys in unexpected places.
On Friday night, the Utah Jazz wore the Kraken jerseys as they entered the arena. On Saturday night, All-Elite Wrestling personality and Golden Knights fan Renee Paquette debuted in the Vegas jersey, while broadcast partner RJ City wore the Seattle sweater. The fans immediately realized what they were seeing and the debates about the jerseys began.
The NHL Winter Classic jerseys are available on the NHL and Adidas e-commerce websites.
This is the final season that Adidas will be the NHL’s supplier of on-ice uniforms and authentic jerseys. Fanatics will assume this role in the 2024-25 season.
“They have been a great partner for us over the last eight years and all of the Winter Classic and outdoor game jerseys they have designed have been truly incredible,” said Jim Haskins, NHL senior vice president of consumer products licensing. “We feel like we’re going out with some of our very best stuff.”