As we passed along last week, the Florida Panthers are getting new duds for the 2016-17 campaign.
Now, the Miami Herald has some details on what the new look entails -- a “completely different” look, according to an anonymous player.
More, from the Herald’s George Richards:
From what I’ve been told, my latest idea of the ‘101st Airborne’ patch/logo/shield is apparently on mark.
Instead of an eagle, a Panther head will adorn the front of the jersey.
And the Panther head is a complete change from what the team has used before. The new Panther is said to look more natural, like the big cats who roam the Everglades.
The Canadiens’ style horizontal stripe across the jersey is what they’re going with.
The biggest change in the color palate apparently is blue is being minimized, red is the signature color and the yellow gold is going to be a much deeper gold.
It’ll be interesting to see how much of this re-branding is tied into the club’s youth movement, possibly in the Dallas Stars mold.
The Stars, you’ll remember, did a complete jersey-and-logo overhaul in June of ’13 -- a month later, they pulled off the Tyler Seguin blockbuster and, two months after that, named Jamie Benn team captain.
The two have since gone on to become the faces of the franchise, and are now synonymous with Dallas’ distinctive “Victory Green” look.
It’s possible Florida could be doing the same with a new look for the likes of future franchise cornerstones Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad -- all of whom are under the age of 24.
The Panthers’ new look also comes after striking a new lease agreement with Broward County, one that’s given the organization optimism for the future.
“It makes the team a sustainable business now,” Panthers executive chairman Peter Luukko explained, per Sportsnet. “You can be committed knowing there will be some losses, but when they become unsustainable, it’s difficult to operate and, quite honestly, have fun doing it.
“We can focus on winning.”