More New Jersey(s)

And we continue …

NEW YORK ISLANDERS -- C+: OK … some will say that I am biased because of my unabashed hatred for the “Icelanders,” way out on the farms of Long Island. And, to a degree, that’s true.

I think orange has become the new black in pro sports – look at the Cincinnati Bengals and Golden State Warriors for example. The orange sleeves, here are overkill. The numbers on the back could easily be seen from the Northern State Parkway.

Another drawback, though not seen here, is uniform numbers will be on the front to the upper left side of the logo, around 10 o’clock, along with sleeve numbers. I don’t know why. Looks silly to me.

If I needed to pick one good thing, it’s another nod to history: they kept the four stripes on the shoulder for their four consecutive Stanley Cups. Bastards.

But man, all that orange.

LOS ANGELES KINGS – B: Meh.

No huge changes here, but the lower half of the jersey is cleaner – no striping, no funky designs save for “Los Angeles” being spelled out on the hem, but they’ve been doing that for the last few seasons.

I think that dark jersey looks better, but the contrasting color seems more blue than purple. A metallic purple – the Minnesota Vikings helmet color – would stand out better.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING – A-: This is a team that has needed a makeover for years, and they seem to have done well here.

The new font to spell out Tampa Bay is bolder, as is the lightning bolt. Before, it was spelled out in a script that was difficult to read. Like the Islanders, though, they’ll have the number on the front … and that’s a drawback to me.

Overall, a solid job and not much here to bitch about.

FLORIDA PANTHERS – F: Bad. Really, really bad. The thing about these critiques is they’re completely subjective – at first glance, you either love them or hate them.

Hate it, and it took about half a second to come up with that.

That striping on the inside of the sleeves is horrendous, as is the colored sleeve that extends across the top of the back. They may be a better team this season, but they’re going to look like clowns.