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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
The NHL’s Stadium Series sweaters are here — and they’re out of this world.
We’re weeks out from a pair of outdoor clashes on Feb. 17 and 18 at MetLife Stadium that will pit the Philadelphia Flyers against the New Jersey Devils (8 p.m. ET on Saturday), and the New York Rangers against the New York Islanders (3 p.m. ET on Sunday).
Each team will have a signature jersey for the event with “bold and statement designs” representing elements of the clubs’ histories. The league was going for “oversized numbers, letters and graphics that convey a futuristic vision of hockey, played outdoors in stadium settings.”
That is… a lot to put on a jersey. Especially when each one also embraces what’s iconic about the franchises themselves.
All four jerseys will have Stadium Series stamped — in the team’s individual font — on the inside back collar. And then things get interesting.
Philadelphia’s sweater includes an extended version of their unique contrast nameplate that stretches all the way around to create sleeve stripes out of the classic Flyers’ feature. The whole look comes together in the Flyers’ very own Burnt Orange.
New Jersey’s striped look is a two-color version of their current home uniforms that are blown up to a stadium-like scale. The Devils’ ‘NJ’ will appear freestanding on the front crest without a usual bounding circle around it.
The Islanders will have a stripped-down version of their wordmark on the sweater — blown up to stadium heights, of course — and will have one of the largest chest stripes Adidas has ever made for an NHL sweater. Their idea was to evoke the Plimsoll line (commonly referred to as a “load line”) painted on the hull of ships.
The Rangers’ sweater will have stadium-worthy stripes mimicking those on its current away jerseys. The NYR has been reimagined in the team’s famous drop shadow font with the usual stairstep orientation.
In every case, the jerseys are capturing what’s already special about the team’s look. MetLife is a massive venue, after all. The sweaters were meant to reflect its grandeur. Fans can get their hands on one on Feb. 5 at NHLShop.com, team stores and NHL Shop NYC at Manhattan West.
The only question is — which Jonas Brother will be sporting which jersey when the trio performs ahead of the Flyers-Devils matchup on Feb. 17? The New Jersey natives grew up on the Devils, have been spotted at Rangers’ games, and even attended a post-concert Edmonton Oilers match in November.
Guess it’ll be a rock-paper-scissors situation to settle any wardrobe debates!
THE METRO IS GOING OUTDOORS 🏟️
Introducing the @adidas 2024 NHL #StadiumSeries jerseys.
📺: @NHLFlyers vs. @NJDevils on Feb 17 and @NYRangers vs. @NYIslanders on Feb 18 pic.twitter.com/PhrvhHC2iR
— NHL (@NHL) January 26, 2024