Friday: More Unpopular Opinions

Hello folks!  I'm going to begin with the concepts again this week, let me know in the comments if you don't like this format.

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Tappara, by Tyler M:

Tyler starts us off with a concept for Tappara of the SM-Liiga (Finnish Elite League).  He uses orange instead of blue as their main colour, which I think is a great decision.  However, I don't like the decision to recolour the Blues template for the striping pattern.  It doesn't look awful, but it looks like a recoloured Blues jersey.  That problem could be avoided by making a few small changes, I'd suggest removing the gap in the hem and arm stripes, thickening the shoulder stripes, and maybe using a different shape yoke.
Rating: 7/10

Les Boucans, by Maxence H:

Next up we have a concept from Maxence for Les Boucans, a rec league team from Nice, France.  The jerseys are very untraditional, too untraditional for a professional team, but they're perfect a rec league team.  I love the wing design on the shoulders and cuffs, and the gradient number font looks great as well.  I don't like the names in the yokes though, they'd be easier to read below the yokes.  I'm mostly a fan of the grey third jersey with the gradients in the yellow and red stripes, I just think those stripes should be thicker.  Execution is good, except the sleeve numbers should be angled to match the angle of the sleeves.
Rating: 7/10

Washington Capitals, by Lucas D:

Moving on we have a couple De-Edge concepts from Lucas, starting with the Capitals.  My favourite part of this concept are the stars on the sleeve, I like how they're horizontal instead of vertical like on the Capitals original jerseys.  The stars on the torso aren't bad either, I like them better when they're above the logo (like on Lucas' Capitals concept from last week) but I don't mind them below the logo.  Other than the stars, I don't find this concept that interesting.  The striping pattern feels generic to me, and the modern Weagle looks out of place without any modern elements elsewhere.
Rating: 7/10

Florida Panthers, by Lucas D:

Lucas also sent in a De-Edge concept for the Panthers, which uses a sublimated cross pattern inspired by the flag of Florida.  I absolutely love the idea of the sublimated cross, I just think it needs to be more subtle (about half as much contrast).  The rest of the striping looks great, I like how it's influenced by both of the Panthers prior sets.  I'm also a fan of the red player's name (on the road jersey), because it reminds me of their original white jersey.
Rating: 8/10

Toronto Maple Leafs, by Noah B:

Our last two concepts, which are from Noah, are for the upcoming Centennial Classic.  I like almost everything about this jersey, the thicker arm and hem stripes would have been perfect for the Leafs new home and road jerseys, and it's a great look for the Centennial Classic as well.  I'm also a big fan of the tan pants (which might be an unpopular opinion).  My only complaint is the thin white yoke stripe, I think it should be as thick as the blue yoke stripe.
Rating: 8/10

Detroit Red Wings, by Noah B:

Noah has the Leafs opponent, the Red Wings, wearing a red jersey in the Centennial Classic, which would mean another beautiful colour on colour match-up (just like the 2014 Winter Classic).  The striping pattern is very clever, it combines three era's of Detroit hockey.  There's two thin stripes under a thicker stripe like the Detroit Cougars 1927-30 arm stripes, the middle stripe is the thinnest just like the Detroit Falcons 1930-32 sweater, and the general layout of those stripes matches the jerseys the Red Wings have always used.  I like the logo choice as well, I actually think this version of the winged-wheel might be better than the current version.
Rating: 9/10 and my COTW nomination!

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Yesterday on HJC, Brendan shared some opinions which probably aren't very popular.  He said that the Canadiens road jersey is "not too plain", the Star's Mooterus jersey "wasn't all that bad", and the Canucks Flying V design "wasn't that bad either".  I actually agree with pretty much everything he said, and since I don't have anything else to talk about I thought I'd share a couple of my own unpopular opinions.

1) The Flames jerseys just need two relatively minor changes.

Image from NHLUniforms.com

Like most people, I don't like the Flames home and road jerseys.  If I were ranking the jerseys of all 30 NHL teams, they'd definitely be at the bottom (along with Colorado).  However, I'd be perfectly fine with the Flames jerseys if they made two simple changes. Those changes are removing the piping that goes nowhere, and ditching the flag shoulder patches.  Everything else about their jerseys I can live with, I don't mind the side panels, or the hem trim, or anything else really.  In fact I actually like the side panels, they're more unique than standard hem stripes and I don't think they look bad either.

2) The Coyotes jerseys were improved in 2007.

Image from NHLUniforms.com

Image from NHLUniforms.com

When the Reebok Edge jerseys were introduced in 2007, only a small handful of teams improved their jerseys, most of the NHL looked worse or stayed the same (in my opinion).  Most people will probably disagree with me, but I think the Coyotes are one of the teams that benefited from the switch.  The main differences between the two looks are their pre-Edge jerseys had hem stripes, which their Edge set replaced with pant stripes and a yoke on the road jersey.  In my opinion, the hem stripes made the jerseys too traditional for the Coyotes identity, they didn't fit with the more modern logos and fonts.  By removing the hem stripes, the jerseys became more modern which I think worked much better for the Coyotes.

By the way, the other teams who I think improved their jerseys during the Reebok Edge takeover are Boston, Columbus, San Jose, Vancouver, and Washington.

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Before you go, here's your COTW reminder.

COTW Sept 16-22 vote (ends Friday, Sept 30 @ noon Eastern)