Winter Classic Jerseys Leaked? EDIT: Philly's Included

According to multiple photos and threads on HFBoards (viewable here and here), the Bruins special edition Winter Classic jersey has been leaked a few days early. The Flyers were supposed to release their jerseys today and the Bruins on the 17th, but two different photos appear to show the new jersey in the possession of Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, who was recently in New York City filming promotional material for Versus.

Photo 1, posted by HFBoards user "Todd Elik":


And photo 2, posted by HF user "Morris Wanchuk"which gives a much better look at the sweater. Not sure yet where/when this was taken and who Thomas'...uh..."companion" is:



Again, these are "alleged" leaks, and may not be the actual jerseys. However, if they are, they appear to be a take on the B's jersey from 1942-1947, a jersey that some are saying the B's wore for the club's 25th anniversary season in 1949. One of the early points of contention is the more rounded and cartoonish-looking "B" on the crest of the sweater. The "B", or a form of it, can be seen here at SportsLogos.net. (I couldn't save the picture for some reason.)

My take? Overall, a pretty nice looking sweater. The gold jersey is much better than their last attempt at a gold uniform (though as I've said before, I kind of liked the "Pooh" jerseys), and I like the bands and piping on the jersey. Some may be turned off by the different looking crest, but, as Pittsburgh's Winter Classic sweater showed, different isn't necessarily bad.

Once more, these are alleged leaks, and could be all wrong. However, if they are the actual jerseys, I give them a thumbs-up. The B's went traditional without going too old school, and should see a decent amount of these jerseys peppered in the Fenway Park crowd come January 1st.

Opinions on the sweaters? Yay? Nay?


EDIT, 5:02 PM: Here are some pics from Philly's official unveiling earlier this afternoon. All are property of the NHL, no copyright infringement intended, and the entire gallery can be seen here.

I think the Flyers' jerseys look pretty sharp as well. I like the stripes down the arm and the horizontal orange stripe across the bottom. My only issue is with the black nameplate visible in the first picture. It seems a little out of place, but basically what this jersey seems to be is an "away" version of the Flyers' extremely popular third jersey. The black nameplate isn't necessarily bad, just a little "different".

Though the contrasting colors between the nameplate and the letters will help fans be able to read Ray Emery's name from under the Fenway scoreboard in center field...maybe it was a good move after all.

Third Jerseys "Officially" Unveiled

The B's "officially" unveiled their new RBK Edge third jerseys today, ending what had to be one of the worst-kept secrets in recent Bruins memory. Though the team never confirmed it before, there were photos surfacing months ago, one from the season ticket holders' "State of the Bruins" meeting that showed Milan Lucic wearing the jersey, and another a screenshot from NESN that showed Patrice Bergeron wearing the jersey at practice during his rehab. Some speculated that it may have only been a prototype, but the one Bergeron wore here is in fact the new jersey.

Here's a picture of the Bruins official third jersey, the one they will wear this coming Friday against the Islanders, the only difference being that the official jersey doesn't have the gold stripe along the bottom of the jersey:
Straight from the Bruins' official website, here's a PDF showing the entire uniform, jersey, socks, helmet, etc.

The B's are releasing this jersey as a part of their "Black Friday Blackout". On Friday, the B's will wear these new jerseys, and the first 10,000 fans will receive free black t-shirts. The idea here is to create a "blackout", a means of intimidation and really just a way to create a cool atmosphere at the Garden. I think it'll be great if it's done well, as things like the Calgary Flames' sea of red really look incredible when everyone participates.

My take on these new alternates? I think the jersey is awesome, pretty simple but different. The new shoulder patch looks great as the crest, and I like the all black look. Something tells me these will be a pretty good seller for the B's as the holiday approaches, as fans will be relieved to see a new jersey that isn't the much maligned mustard-yellow Pooh jerseys (which I actually didn't mind...).

In any case, it'll be great to see these new sweaters on the ice on Friday, as hopefully the B's continue on their hot streak and roll over the Isles.