Philadelphia Flyers Back in Black for 2017 Stadium Series

Hey kids, remember that whacky decade-and-a-half where the Philadelphia Flyers went with black as their dominant colour instead of orange? Because I kinda forgot about it, and things were starting to look up. Yeah, I admit, that’s a bit of an overreaction — let’s be honest, the Flyers various black uniforms (of the late 1990s up through 2010) weren’t actually all that bad, but to bump off the orange for it? Just another one of those “what were they thinking?!” moments in hockey uniform history.

But this here, the Flyers’ 2017 Stadium Series uniform, is not one of those moments.

A two-games-only design (in addition to the February 25th Stadium Series in Pittsburgh, they will also be worn at home on March 15th), the uniform breaks up the black with large orange stripes on either arm and one right at the waist. There’s no orange at the collar or even on the letters or numbers (more on that later), but an orange nameplate – a nice nod to Flyers uniform history – certainly brings some life to the back of the design. The helmet and pants are all black, socks are black with a single orange stripe similar to the sleeves.

There are two patches on the shoulders of this jersey, the right shoulder has a patch of the 2017 Stadium Series logo while the left is a memorial to long-time team owner Ed Snider who died this past April.

Overall the uniform is a nice look, but I can’t stand it when a team goes with a colour-on-colour number like the Flyers have done on the back of their jersey and again on the helmet:

Black on black numbers are neither a good look nor a practical look. The irony of this being that Stadium Series jerseys specifically use larger numbers on the sleeves and back to aid in the identification of players from the outdoor stadium stands, which are always further away from the ice than in a traditional indoor hockey arena. So we find ourselves with a little bit of contradiction happening there.

But as I said earlier, overall, the uniform is a solid design, and when you pair them up against the yellow and black that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be wearing for this game that should make for a very visually appealing matchup.

The new look is up for sale on NHL.com, you can buy one yourself via the link below: