Is it possible to squeeze in four different jersey designs of the past to make one new uniform? Well, when your look has been as consistent as the Montreal Canadiens has, yeah, it’s possible.
And that’s what we have here for the jersey of theirs just unveiled at a media event at the Bell Centre in Montreal for the 2016 Winter Classic. It’s the base design of the 1940s, with the chest logo of the 1920s, in the shade of blue from 1909, with the globe from 1925.
I mean, it’s simple jersey arithmetic here folks, let me explain… the new uniform is a combination of these two looks:
Multiplied by:
With a Denominator of…
Um, remainder… look math was a long time ago, forget the math… Basically it’s a tribute to their past, specifically their first 35 years.
The 1923-24 version of the “CH” logo appearing right on the chest, representative of their first Stanley Cup championship won that season:
This was one season before the Boston Bruins, their opponents and hosts during the 2016 Winter Classic came into existence. During that season the Habs wore the globe on their chest in honour of their Stanley Cup win the year prior. This globe design has been added to the sleeves of the 2016 sweater:
The blue from 1909? No idea, it was their first season (pre-dating the NHL by 9 years), so a throwback to their original look as the Bruins wear theirs. The all-red collar is from 1946, meant to look like the old school sweater collars of the era, the Bruins are also wearing a collar like this on their jersey.
The 2016 Winter Classic logo is also featured as a patch on the right shoulder.
Is this jersey as good as it could be? Nah. If it were a new alternate jersey for the club I think people would be disappointed. But as for the Winter Classic, she’s looks pretty good! It’ll pair up nicely with the 1924 Bruins black and yellow jersey and should look great in the outdoor setting. I’m happy with this.