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Oops: Sabres team store accidentally unveils new Senators and Maple Leaf third jerseys

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When a team creates a new third jersey and they’re doing their part to keep it under wraps as a state secret, letting any sort of leaks happen can be a major headache for the marketing people. Just think back to how things broke down for the Winnipeg Jets when their logo was leaked on the Internet. The Jets PR staff moved quickly to have a press conference to officially release what the logo looked like themselves before the leaked logo got around any faster.

Imagine the horror that went through the marketing offices of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs when photos from the Buffalo Sabres team store at First Niagara Center that appeared on hockey jersey and logo super site Icethetics showed that they already had the Senators and Maple Leafs new third jerseys, which haven’t been shown off yet, out on the racks for sale.

Whoops.

Both the Senators and Leafs had the option of either denying that’s what they’d look like and then curse out whoever was responsible for shipping them out or they could bite the bullet and say that the cat’s out of the bag and that’s what they’ll look like.

The Senators, who have been hinting around as to what they’ll be doing for some time now, decided to bite the bullet and fess up.

“While we are very disappointed to have our new jersey revealed in this manner, we are pleased to see the early comments from fans are extremely positive,” said Jeff Kyle, Senators vice-president of marketing. “We believe that this jersey will be a top seller in the National Hockey League this season, especially as fans learn the story behind how it was designed.

The heritage jersey pays tribute to the early Senators teams that won 11 Stanley Cups and was one the franchises that founded the NHL in 1917. The early Senators were considered the NHL’s first dynasty, with accomplishments so great that in 1950, sportswriters voted the Ottawa club as the team of the first half century in Canada.


Paying homage to the original Senators franchise that was in Ottawa is a nice touch and the barber pole striping going on with the sweater isn’t nearly as egregious as what the Montreal Canadiens did with their 100th anniversary heritage sweater two years ago.

While the Leafs haven’t said anything one way or another, Pension Plan Puppets are embracing the new sweater and the tribute that it pays to the 1967 Maple Leafs team, the last Leafs team to win the Stanley cup. This new third sweater also replace the white one they’ve used the last few seasons that had a blue shoulder yoke and the old-time style maple leaf crest. All that aside, PPP makes the point that how the team does has more of an effect on how popular the new duds are.

The success of the jersey will be tied directly to how well the team does while wearing them. While the jersey will obviously sell well (what TML related gear doesn’t?) it’s ultimate success will depend on the more memories that the team produces while wearing them.

Good point for sure. As for how they look, the old time style is always worthy of approval and the bold blue color of the Leafs sweater with a logo like what they had in their Stanley Cup season is a winner. While the Leafs and Senators both hate each other, they’ll be a couple of the nicer looking teams when sporting these sweaters.

(Photo courtesy: Icethetics.info)