Report: More ‘color vs. color’ jersey games wanted by NHL board of governors
At long last, we may be seeing more color vs. color jersey matchups in the NHL.
According to a report by ESPN writer Greg Wyshynski, NHL chief branding officer and senior executive vice president Brian Jennings put together a presentation during this week’s board of governor meetings at Colorado Springs that highlighted several games that sported the color vs. color games, with a “pleasantly” surprising reception from owners and executives.
The NHL Board of Governors were presented with the league's plans for more aesthetically awesome 'color vs. color' jersey games next season. It was met with "surprising" enthusiasm — even if there are some challenges.
My story: https://t.co/6AZi7Ghf5M
“I had about 18 team presidents and some owners come to me afterward to say, ‘Hey, I’d love to follow up with you to find out if you have some ideas for our club,'” Jennings told ESPN. “When it [works], it’s just a far superior television and in-arena product, in my opinion.”
The NHL plans to have an increased number of color vs. color jersey matchups next season, with a large focus on rivalry nights and nationally-televised matchups.
According to Jennings, about 57% of this season’s games would be good for a color vs. color matchup, while 43% were a “no-go”. Potential obstacles getting in the way of some matchups was color contrast (teams with the same primary jersey color), travel (so teams playing on lengthy road trips aren’t carrying around two equipment sets) and sponsorships (as some teams have different sponsors for home and road jerseys, and have certain requirements to meet with those sponsors).
The NHL has had a few instances of color vs. color jersey matchups this season, with the New York Rangers playing multiple games of this style against the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, and the Colorado Avalanche planning to do the same against the Montreal Canadiens in January.
The NHL has had one team wear color and one wear white for most of its’ history, originally due to the need for a clear disparity between the two teams when games were broadcasted in black-and-white. In the 1970s, the road team became the team that wore the colored jersey, as white jerseys were easier to stain, something teams wanted to avoid while on road trips.
But as teams and arenas developed (and added washing machines to their facilities), the NHL allowed the home teams to wear the colored jerseys in 2003-04. While this meant that most fans wouldn’t get to see a variety of colored jerseys at games, it was a decision made so that teams could wear their alternate jerseys on home ice in front of the crowd more likely to buy them.