Dallas Stars Uniform Survey: Second Wave

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from talking to Dallas Stars fans since Reebok got the NHL uniform contract and came out with the “Edge Uniform System,” it’s that most fans generally don’t much care for the current sweaters worn by the team. Admittedly, the player t-shirts are pretty slick and I own a few of them, but the design seems to translate better to a black tshirt than it does to a hockey uniform.

Most fans were upset to learn that Reebok and the Stars claimed that the previous “Star-shaped” template would not fit onto the new “Edge” uniform cut, meaning that the uniforms worn to skate the Cup around Marine Midland Arena were no longer viable options… but does that mean they had to get radical?

I’ve asked Stars fans, and the community here at Defending Big D, what they’d like to see in a Dallas Stars uniform design. The answers are simple. Green. Our primary logo on the chest. Traditional striping. Stars fans hate the all-gold helmet sticker from a few years ago, and they don’t love the black/gold/white concept of the home jersey as a whole.

With that in mind, I came up with some different uniform designs for our Dallas Stars. In part two of this mini-series of posts, I present the latest tweaks to the designs that got the most love in the first wave of creation. Who knows, considering the Ottawa Senators recently unveiled a fan-designed alternate sweater that was backed by their fan base, maybe we can hope for a little Gaglardi magic, and see these on the ice some day?

OPTION ONE:

Based on the current home and road template worn by the Dallas Stars, this aims to “fix” what is broken with it without throwing the baby out with the bath water. Straightens up the arm stripes, adds real waist stripes, returns the primary logo to the chest, and returns green as our primary color. A modified collar shape that isn’t worn by any NHL team currently, but would evoke the more standardized U neck collars of hockey sweaters past, while retaining the ever prevalent “RBK Triangle” in the middle.

OPTION TWO:

This option is almost exactly the same as option one, but some comments suggested more green and less white on the road sweater. This compromise keeps the striping consistent from home to road, but using what I like to the call “Houston Oiler/Florida Gator” style stripes. Only uniform design nerds like myself have any idea what I mean by that.

OPTION THREE:

This design personally does nothing for me. The template looks awful on the Phoenix Coyotes third jersey, and only looks good on the Texas Stars of the AHL because it’s such an upgrade over what they normally wear, but I decided to include it in the poll since so many fans seem to think the Dallas Stars need to draw inspiration from their AHL affiliate’s new third jersey.

OPTION FOUR:

I went into this project with Option One as my clear cut favorite, but by the time I posted it, this won me over. I’m still torn on which one I like better, but this takes the traditional Minnesota North Stars pattern and makes it our own. I used the darker shade of green that they’ve used in Texas, made a white sweater that matches the green, and sharpened the edges of the shoulder yokes, to make them fit the angular nature of the crest. A modern classic that we could easily reclaim as our own.

OPTION FIVE:

Taking on the popularity of option four, but making some tweaks based on the feedback I received, this is another take on the classic 1991-era Minnesota North Stars uniforms. Going with a more traditional rounder shoulder yoke, while bringing back to the map of Texas alternate logo to the shoulders.

Now, the rest is up to you. Which of these five concepts would you like to see the Stars wearing, if it were up to you? Leave your comments below, and I’ll use your feedback to further tweak the winning concept until it’s perfect and loved by all.

Which uniform set has the most potential?