Pre-Original Six Jerseys I'd Like to See Rereleased Pt.1

Inspired by the Throwback Throwdown on this week's HJC Podcast (which you can catch at 4:30pm EST on the Weekend Rundown), I got to thinking of some designs from the pre-Original Six era, that being from 1918-1942 that'd I'd like either current NHL teams to wear as throwbacks/outdoor jerseys or to be rereleased under the CCM vintage line. This is not exclusive to teams that didn't make it past the 1941-42 season or the soon to be Original Six teams, just jerseys that were worn by NHL teams during this era.

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1925-28 Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburghhockey.net

Starting off with a design that could be easily picked up by a certain current NHL team, the Pirates were one of the more successful pre-Original 6 franchises, that despite being killed off by the Great Depression, pulled together 3 solid jerseys in their 5 year lifespan. This one happens to be my favourite and the one that could translate easily to the current Adizero template. Despite the primary logo being cut off by the dual chest stripe and script above the logo seeming a little crowded, it still manages to work. It has a certain level of timelessness to this design that makes it something that could have come out in 1925 or 1965, we know it's old, but not dated. The arm logos we've seen the Penguins do something similar with in the 2017 Stadium Series jerseys, and a little size correction would make them something worth keeping On top of this, thanks to players wearing literal hats in this day in age, we know a black helmet would look solid, and black pants would bring these jerseys into the current. These jerseys would be welcome in a Winter Classic against an opponent with a similar history (Chicago? Toronto?). Imagine how good the logos would feel in that felt material used on many Winter Classic jerseys?

1930-32 Detroit Falcons

greatestnhluniforms.com

I've seen a couple concepts attempt to put yellow into the Red Wings colour scheme, and while it hasn't been done in at least 86 years, it has been done. The Detroit Falcons were a weird identity as they only lasted two seasons in the NHL and then one in the NBA in 1946-47. These jerseys I think pulled off the yoke stripe look better than almost any other team, and had a really nice chest stripe/double script look. Along with being my favourite of the Pre-Red Wings Detroit jerseys, it is also the only jersey the Red Wing haven't worn yet. The 1926-27 jerseys made up the 2009 Winter Classic and a red version for the 2014 Alumni Game jerseys, 1927-28/29-30 was worn in 1992 for the NHL's 75th anniversary, I'll be with the 27-28 script as the 29-30 jerseys had red script with a white outline on a red chest stripe that just wouldn't work today. While it was a fauxback, the 2017 Centennial Classic jerseys were heavily inspired by the 1928-29 jerseys with silver being added to the top arm stripe and the Red Wings logo replacing the dated cougar head and Detroit script.

1912-13 Montréal Canadiens

Photo from ourhistory.canadiens.com

Here's Habs jersey hockey fans had no idea actually existed until a few years ago when this photo was discovered and an actual version of this jersey was found. In short, it's the first of Montréal's chest stripe jerseys that went around the jersey and not up and over the shoulders like the 1909-10 jerseys. The history of these jerseys is quite interesting, unlike the 1911-12 jerseys were we don't know the design, we don't know the use of this jersey. The barber pole jersey dominated much of 1912-13, but according to the team itself, these jerseys were only worn against the Senators, as both teams had barber pole jerseys. We've seen this jersey in concept form, and it looked pretty solid with the dark colours. The fact we didn't get this jersey in the Habs centennial celebrations is interesting, but it does leave it open for a future outdoor game...maybe against the Senators barber pole jersey? The socks are also way ahead of their time, almost seeming like something that could have been done for a Stadium Series game. This is a jersey I'd much prefer to see in an outdoor game with the felt logos and numbers and not in the CCM vintage style.

Chicago Blackhawks 1927-34

hockeygods.com

This is probably the most requested jersey of this era, mainly because since 1992 it's the only era of Blackhawks jersey they have not thrown back to, and considering the number of outdoor games Chicago has played, it's kind of shocking they haven't. Interestingly, the striping on this jersey is similar to the Detroit Falcons with the yoke striping cutting off at the yoke and surrounding it. The logo holds up pretty good today, as does most of the kit with black pants. The only major change that'd have to be made is swapping the white socks to black....but maybe not, especially in a Winter Classic against another team that was founded in the mid 1920s...cough cough...2019 WC? I know what you're thinking, why not the white version? The logo looks a lot better on the black jersey, and it has been 4 years since the Blackhawks have worn a dark outdoor jersey at the 2014 Stadium Series Soldier Field game.

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Stay tuned for part 2!