Earning Their Stripes: Tampa Bay Lightning Unveil New Third Jerseys

After 32 years in the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Lightning feel they’ve finally earned their stripes, and they’ll be wearing them front and center on their new third jerseys.

The Lightning unveiled the new jerseys on their website and social media channels on Thursday, February 15. They’ll them seven times before the end of the 2023-24 regular season, including three times in the five days after the unveiling.

The design unveiled Thursday matches up with a leak that was spotted in early January. The base of the jersey is black, with the Lightning’s usual shoulder patch logo enlarged and placed on the front of the sweater.

The stripes around the arms are white, blue and silver — an homage to the “victory stripes” that were found under the arms of the Lightning’s original sweaters, which they wore some variation of between their inaugural season in 1992 to 2007. On those jerseys, the stripes were only visible when a player raised their arms in celebration; now they’re out in the open for all to see.

*“Victory Stripes” seen under the arm of the original Lightning uniform during their 2004 Stanley Cup win.*

Since 1992, the Lightning’s storied rise from budding hockey club to perennial power has run parallel to its fanbase and community. In the 2024 third jersey, every element is designed to commemorate the heritage of a franchise and the growing legacy of its thunder. It’s a nod to the championship nature of our region. We fight, evolve, endure. In Tampa Bay, we earn our stripes. Now we wear the legacy.
— Tampa Bay Lightning website

The jersey also has a broad white stripe around the waist and blue trim on the collar.

Another homage to the Lightning’s 1992 sweaters comes in the form of the numbers on the sleeves and back. While the font is the same block font the team uses on their current home and road sweaters, a blue outline and drop shadow harkens back to the inaugural jerseys.

The jerseys will be paired with matte black helmets, black gloves, black pants and black socks with the same victory stripe pattern as the arms of the jersey.

Printed inside the collar are the years the Lightning have won the Stanley Cup, all in the 2000s: ’04, ’20 and ’21.