The Detroit Red Wings are thinkin’ about tinkerin’ with their look.
According to DetroitHockey.Net, the Red Wings sent out a fan survey yesterday that included the standard questions one would see in such a survey, like “How many games have you attended?” But it’s a little further into this process that really caught the attention of the site.
Questions such as “Would you like the Red Wings Players to have an alternate jersey design to wear for some games?”, “If the Red Wings were to add an Alternate Jersey, what would you like to see in the design of the alternate jersey?”, “What does the Red Wings logo mean to you?” and “Do you feel the Red Wings should add a team mascot?”
Some of the options listed for “What would you like to see in the design of the alternate jersey?” raise a few eyebrows. There’s the expected “Vintage or throwback style,” but then we see a few more non-traditional options like “Neon Colours (not red/white)” and “Nods to Detroit music.” Interesting!
The Detroit Red Wings are one of three teams active in the NHL never to have an official alternate (or “third,” as the NHL calls them) uniform in their rotation — the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Kraken being the others. The Red Wings have worn additional uniforms as part of league-wide promotions such as Reverse Retro or the NHL 75 program and special one-time looks for outdoor games but have thus far avoided setting up a bonafide three-uniform multi-season rotation.
As for a mascot, Detroit has its large and purple “Al the Octopus,” but Al is classified as an “unofficial” mascot. The question on the logo doesn’t concern me all that much; it seems they’re just looking at what the overall perception of the brand is within their own fanbase — the Detroit Red Wings logo is too iconic to change at this point.
LINK: Detroit Red Wings all-time logo and uniform history
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If the Red Wings were to go ahead with this new alternate uniform, it’d be quite some time before we see it hit the ice — the process of requesting, designing, getting approval, and then actually physically creating a new uniform in the NHL can take over a year; at this point, the Red Wings are still at a phase in which they’re not even sure they want a new uniform.
One comparable we have is the Ottawa Senators and their recent rebranding. The Senators sent out a similar survey to their fans in the Summer of 2018, more than two years before their new look débuted for the 2020-21 season. With a similar length of time from fan survey to on-the-ice as Ottawa’s, a new Red Wings uniform would be ready for 2025-26.
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