What if the Minnesota North Stars never left?

I'm back with the fourth and possibly final installment of my "What If?" series (I'll probably make a Whalers version, but I haven't started it yet). This is my take on what the North Stars would look like if they had never left.

Pre-Edge Era

1991-95

With relocation rumours swirling, the North Stars redesigned their uniforms by removing any reference to the "North" part of their name. A relocation to Dallas almost happened in 1993, but that deal fell apart at the last minute. The North Stars were then sold to local owners who kept them in Minnesota.

1995-97

The "N-Star" logo returned as a shoulder patch, and gold was added to the names and numbers.

1997-2000

After six seasons on the sidelines, the "N-Star" logo became the primary logo once again. The jerseys featured an arrow on the sleeves, pointing up (aka North).

2000-2003

The North Stars moved into the newly completed Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul for the start of the 2000-01 season. They also introduced a new green third jersey, their first green jersey in almost ten years.

2003-07

The green third jersey became the new home jersey when the NHL switched to dark jerseys at home before the 2003-04 season.

2003-04 Vintage Jersey Program

The North Stars took part in the NHL's Vintage Jersey Program, wearing replicas of their 1969-72 jerseys. Unfortunately, they didn't bother to use matching equipment (neither did the Kings or Blues).

Reebok Edge Era

2007-09

A new road jersey, which matched the green home jersey, was introduced during the league wide switch to Reebok Edge jerseys.

2009-15

The North Stars added a black third jersey, featuring a similar striping pattern to a rejected prototype jersey from the 80's.

2015-17

The North Stars unveiled a new look in the summer of 2015, featuring an updated "N-Star" logo and a forest green and gold colour scheme. If you look closely you'll notice the upward (aka northward) facing notch in the sleeve stripes.

2017 Winter Classic

With both teams celebrating their 50th anniversaries, the North Stars headed to St. Louis to face the Blues in the 2017 Winter Classic. Minnesota brought back their 1978-81 white jersey for the occasion.

Adidas Adizero Era

2017-22

The jerseys were unchanged during the Adidas Adizero takeover.

2021 Reverse Retro

The North Stars brought back their "arrow" design for their 2021 Reverse Retro jersey, this time with green as the primary colour.  Xcel Energy sponsored Minnesota's helmets this season.

2022 Winter Classic

The North Stars once again faced the Blues in a Winter Classic game, this time in Minnesota. They wore the green version of their previous Winter Classic jersey.

2022-Future

The previous year's Winter Classic jersey becomes the full-time third jersey for the 2022-23 season. Also TRIA Orthopedics is introduced as the team's jersey sponsor, with Toyota sponsoring the helmets.

Have a nice weekend!

What if the Atlanta Thrashers never left?

What would the Atlanta Thrashers look like if they had never left? That's the focus of part three of my "What If? series.

2011-17

A new local ownership group purchased the Thrashers in 2010, and one of the changes they made was the introduction of new uniforms for the 2011-12 season. Ice blue became the undisputed primary colour, with the stripes making use of the rest of the colours from the logo.

2017-18

The sleeve stripes were straightened during the switch to the Adidas template. Also, the thrasher-head logo was added to the back of the collars, and ice blue was further emphasized by being used for the helmets and gloves.

2018-22

A navy blue third jersey was added in 2018 which used the Thrashers' T-bird logo on the front, and stealth numbers. The players would choose to use this jersey in the playoffs.

2021 Reverse Retro

Atlanta's Reverse Retro jersey took their original road jersey and swapped the navy and maroon colours. This jersey was popular with fans, who in general prefered the T-bird logo. Also starting this season, The Home Depot began sponsoring the team's helmets.

2022-Future

Navy blue becomes the primary colour, and the T-bird logo becomes the main logo when the Thrashers unveil new jerseys prior to the 2022-23 season. The previous primary logo is ditched altogether, but ice blue remains fairly prominent being used for the pants, gloves, and road jerseys' numbers. Delta Air Lines is introduced as the team's jersey sponsor.

I'll be back next week with a "What If?" for the Minnesota North Stars!

What if the Winnipeg Jets never left?

I'm back with another set of "What If?" concepts, this time for the original Winnipeg Jets. As was the case with my Nordiques concepts, this is an update to a series I did exactly ten years ago (so everything up to the 2012-13 season was decided by me in 2012).

Also, this is a separate timeline to my Nordiques concepts (the Avalanche exist in this timeline, the Nordiques do not).

Let's get started...

1990-99

The set of jerseys the Jets introduced in 1990 would stick around unchanged until the end of the 1998-99 season.

1999-2007

The Jets updated their uniforms before the start of the 1999-2000 season. The blue became navy, grey was added to the colour scheme, and the striping pattern was altered.

2007-11

A few changes were made to the jerseys during the switch to the Reebok Edge cut. Front numbers were added, the collar changed, and the armpits became grey.

2011 Heritage Classic

The Winnipeg Jets hosted the Montreal Canadians in the 2011 Heritage Classic. They wore replicas of their 1976 WHA uniforms, the first year they won the Avco Cup.

2011-14

The previous year's Heritage Classic jersey became their full time third jersey.

2014-17

The Jets introduced a brand new set of jerseys in 2014, which brought back the wordmark and jet from their 1973-90 roundel. Also grey was ditched from the colour scheme, and a new name and number font was introduced.

2017-18

No changes were made to the design during the switch to Adidas jerseys.

2018-22

The Jets made a bold choice by adding a "whiteout" third jersey, complete with white gloves and grey pants. The striping pattern brought back the sleeve stripes from their 1979-90 jerseys.

2019 Heritage Classic

Speaking of their 1979-90 jerseys, Winnipeg brought the blue version back when they played the Flames in the 2019 Heritage Classic in Regina, Saskatchewan.

2021 Reverse Retro

For the NHL's Reverse Retro program, the Jets swapped the red and blue on their 1990's road jersey. Also, they added Bell as their helmet sponsor.

2022-Future

The whiteout third jersey is retired after four seasons. In its place the Jets introduce a grey third jersey which is partially inspired by the 1948 RCAF Flyers' Olympic jerseys. Additionally, SkipTheDishes is introduced as the Jets first jersey sponsor.

That's all for now, but I'll be back soon with a "What If?" for the Atlanta Thrashers. Thanks for stopping by!

What if the Quebec Nordiques never left?

Hello folks, and welcome to a post ten years in the making! Back in 2012 I made a series of Quebec Nordiques concepts, a fictional timeline of what they might have looked like if they had never left. Those concepts became the most viewed post on my previous blog SG-94 (by a wide margin). Today is the 10 year anniversary of that post, so I thought it would be a great time to add onto the timeline. We begin in 1995... 

Pre-Edge Era

1995-98

In 1995 the Nordiques completely redesigned their uniforms. The colours changed, and a wolf (or husky?) became the primary logo. These jerseys weren't well liked by most fans, and as a result they only lasted three years.

1998-2003

In the summer of 1998, the Nordiques announced that their unpopular "Wolf" jerseys were going away. Most fans were hoping for a return to the classic logo and jerseys. They did get the Igloo logo back, but the jerseys were new, with navy and silver added to the colour scheme. Many fans liked these jerseys, but some were disappointed that the classic jerseys weren't back.

2003-07

The Nordiques added a third jersey in 2003, which would last until the switch to Reebok Edge jerseys in 2007. The jersey was navy blue with lots of silver.

Reebok Edge Era

2007-08

Slight changes were made to the jerseys during the switch to the Reebok Edge cut. A phantom shoulder yoke was added, and the hem-stripes became smaller. These changes weren't well liked by fans, who still wanted to see a return to the classic set.

2008-10

When the third jersey program was re-introduced in 2008, the Nordiques finally listened to their fans by adding a throwback jersey based off of their classic blue jersey.

2010-12

The third jersey became the home jersey, and a matching away jersey was added. The previous home jersey stayed on as a third jersey.

2012-13

On June, 15th 2012, the Nordiques announced that they were scrapping their third jersey and would only have the two throwback jerseys for the next season.

2013-16

A black third jersey was added that didn't feature the Nordiques classic Igloo logo at all. The inside of the collar used a Quebec flag as a hanger effect, and the proportion of the stripes were also taken from the Quebec flag (3-2-3).

2016-17

The Nordiques faced off against the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 Heritage Classic, wearing a baby-blue jersey based off of their inaugural WHA look. The jersey would be worn several more times throughout the season, replacing the black third jersey which had been retired after three seasons.

Adidas Adizero Era

2017-19

Only minor changes were made to the Nordiques jerseys during the league-wide switch to Adidas, including ditching the outlines on the numbers, and using a different sock stripe. Also three fleur-de-lis were added to the inside of the collar as a hanger effect.

2019-22

A "stealth" third jersey, with no white at all, was added to the rotation. The third shade of blue (baby-blue) comes from their 2016 Heritage Classic jersey.

2019-20 Throwback

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the lone NHL season of the Quebec Athletics (aka the Bulldogs), the Nordiques wore throwbacks of their jerseys for a handful of games throughout the season.

2021 Reverse Retro

For the NHL's Reverse Retro program, the Nordiques brought back their "Wolf" design from the 90's, this time with teal as the base colour. In stark contrast to 25 years prior, fans welcomed these jerseys back with open arms. Also this season, Videotron became the team's helmet sponsor.

2022-Future

Due to declining jersey sales, the Nordiques decide to ditch their classic set. The "stealth" jersey becomes the new home jersey, and a matching white jersey is added which features ghosted fleur-de-lis (white on a white background). Also, the Nordiques announce Desjardins Group as their official jersey sponsor (Videotron remains the team's helmet sponsor).

Thanks for checking this out! I had a blast making these concepts, it was a lot of fun imagining what could have been if the Nordiques had stuck around (if you're looking for ideas for concepts, I highly recommend trying a fictional timeline like this).

See you later!

White Rangers Third

I'm back!

New York Rangers

It didn't start out this way, but this concept became a mix of the Rangers current road jersey and their short-lived 1976-78 set.

Have a nice weekend!