It’s been a while since we’ve had a Guest Post on the site, so we are glad to welcome one back here today. Today’s topic is jerseys, or sweaters if you are that guy. Our man AJ Lee is here to say, the Golden Knights have the best jerseys in expansion history.
So here we go…
It would have been so easy to go so wrong.
After all, this is Las Vegas we’re talking about. Tragic looks abound. Uniform designers for the first major pro sports franchise in Sin City, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, must have been sorely tempted to go for a look that was, shall we say, Cirque du Power Play.
Siegfried and (Patrick) Roy.
Puck be a lady?
Subtlety being what it is in Nevada, the charter members of the Knights roster should be grateful they aren’t wearing sharkskin sweaters or fishnet socks.
Yet, in terms of jersey design, the Knights didn’t simply clear a low bar. They went top shelf.
Coming Out Hot
Even before they became the first team in NHL history to win seven of their first eight games in their inaugural season, the Knights were sizzling.
Gorgeous. (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Thankfully, no one tried to distill the Vegas experience into sweater form, as there is nary a sequin, tassel nor martini glass — V-shaped though it may be — worked into the design.
Indeed, the only “V” present in part of the team’s hockey equipment is the one menacingly formed by the negative space in the facemask of the helmet on the logo.
Not that the jersey is without some showier nods to Vegas. Very well-executed nods. But we’ll get to that.
A Bit of Bling
Both jerseys feature an absolutely inspired secondary logo on the shoulders. Crossed swords behind a four-pointed red star is a perfect appropriation of the eight-pointed star on the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign.
Other “Vegas-y” touches include:
• Gold-trimmed white gloves. OK, they wear black gloves at home — but the white mitts are sweet.
• The gold trim on the team logos and numbers has metallic sparkle. It’s not “girly” it’s, in fact, awesome.
• The wide bands of gold at the biceps is textured — reportedly to evoke sagebrush, Nevada’s state flower. It’s incredible detail like that that makes a jersey such as the Knights truly special knowing minor details like that.
• The black background in the logo, too, has sculpted, organic textures that complete the look — sort of like the perfect pocket square.
Some of us can’t wait until Adidas gets around to issuing an alternate jersey — the vote here is for the shoulder logo to move center stage. Until then, you’d have to say, off and on the ice, the Knights look marvelous. They easily have one of the best, if not the best, jersey of any expansion team in recent memory.
-AJ Lee
Author bio: AJ Lee is Marketing Coordinator for Pro Stock Hockey, an online resource for pro stock hockey equipment. He was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and has been a huge Blackhawks fan his entire life. AJ picked up his first hockey stick at age 3, and hasn’t put it down yet.
If you are interested in contributing a Guest Post to SinBin.vegas, please email us at ken@sinbin.vegas.
PhiSig 150
Nice article but I strongly disagree. The unis are trying to mimic the West Point cadet uniforms and really have nothing to do with Las Vegas aside from the awesome Vegas Swords Star which I agree should be our alternate. I hate the texturing. I hate the gold on the biceps that looks to me like drapes from the 70s. I love the logo but they couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to Mardi Gras the damn thing with all this unneeded flair. Unis need much more red to bring some life to the drab gray. The fact that people were arguing if the uniform looked more like the German or Belgium flag makes it a huge miss for me. I will say they do look slightly better in person but they still blow.
I do have hope for an awesome alternate jersey next year, hopefully red and utilizing the star logo. I would also love to see the Vegas sign on the shoulder. Despite how much I hate the current jerseys I still love the team. After all if you’re kids are ugly you still love them right?
Brian
Both road and home jerseys are SPECTACULAR !! Bravo to the design team at Adidas and the Knights for putting such an AMAZING design together. The swords are great. The texturing is fantastic. The gold is BOLD on the biceps and I love it. And the perfect amount of Red to add just the right amount of “jump” to the scheme. And the white mitts—–YES !! I too would like to see an alternate scheme, but I’m perfectly fine with what they have right now. The Knights look GREAT !!
Great read, AJ !!
A Fan
AJ, it’s the Vegas Golden Knights, not the LAS Vegas Golden Knights. (Should have been Las Vegas Knights)
Everyone I have spoke with out of state loves the away jerseys, not so much the home ones. And I have to agree with them.
Foley had said our jerseys would pop. Pop means like a bright color like Nashville Or Philly. I too am not sure about the gold looking like a 70’s curtain, disliked it in the beginning but I guess it’s grown on me.
I can’t wait for an alternate jersey. If they nail that, they will sell tons of them. It has to have something that pops in it. Someone mentioned red. The star from the Welcome to LV sign looks great, although our main helmet/V is now very recognizable. I think the color will be the most important thing as our gray/black is too dark and kind of boring.
But I haven’t missed a game and don’t plan to. Love the team.
Go Knights Go!
Slack
On a semi-related side note. The team needs to update the scoreboard player profile pics. It shows them in grey sweaters but wearing white helmets and and white gloves. Its a small gripe but an attention to detail that should be corrected…and yes, we do notice.
Ken Boehlke
Apparently it was done on purpose because the white helmet shows better on camera. It irks me too though.
Jeff Kruger
In regards to the alternate logo, I always thought of the star on the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign as a map’s compass. Visitors who arrived by car in the early 1960’s probably welcomed this signpost as having finally arrived in LV.
Since the sign is placed on a street heading due north, this seems to be a reasonable idea, as the compass points due north as well. (Gambling straight ahead).
Nonetheless, the alternative logo rocks this party. At The Armory, the only item I saw that featured the swords/star identifier as the hero was a distressed (heathered?) red t-shirt. Which looks awesome! Perfect for that third jersey we’re discussing.
Happy holidays, all!