There's a column on NHL.com today (
NHL.com - Community) trying to allay fears about the new jersey designs that are about to be unveiled. The NHL seems to be really nervous about it, and they seem keenly aware that there is a great deal of fan sentiment against any change in the jerseys even before the changes are shown. So they are rolling out the
PR campaign full steam, to try and make it seem like there's someone out there besides Gary Bettman and the folks at Rbk/CCM who think this is a good idea. They've designated a few players to be the official voices of the players on the new unis, and naturally these hand-chosen few (such as Daniel Briere and J.P. Dumont) are giving well-scripted answers about how much they love the new jerseys and how the league, Rbk, and the players all worked together to come up with a great product, etc. When you start hearing from players who are outside that circle, the ones who haven't been pushed into shilling the new jerseys, opinions are less supportive. From Larry Brooks in the NY Post:
Propaganda Alert! Scheduled to unveil its new uniform design at a press event in New York on Wednesday, the NHL will attempt to control the message from the players through talking points distributed by a PR agency.
"To assist us in the launch, we have hired public relations agency Fleishman-Hillard to collaborate with NHL players in the role of player advocacy, so that we will build consensus, keep everyone informed and educated, and work toward a product launch that will reflect well on the league, Reebok and the players whose input was - and will remain - critical to all phases of this project," reads a memo distributed by the league to its teams last week, and obtained by Slap Shots.
"Jim Woodcock of Fleishman-Hillard will lead this player-advocacy effort on behalf of the league. It is imperative that you make connection with Jim this week to arrange a phone meeting with your player(s) who have been identified as advocates and leaders in our transition to the [Reebok] Edge Uniform System.
"With the timing of the New York news event only one week away, time is of the essence as we build toward a successful introduction of the uniform system."
We have a couple of questions. Well, more than a couple, but this will suffice:
If the new "uniform system" is welcomed by the players, why would the league need to identify three players per team as spokesmen to flog the product?
Why would the league need to instruct the players how to answer questions from people like me?
We have this question, too: When will the players stop going, "Baaaahhhh?"
Articles like that and like
this one from San Jose and
this one on NBC Sports (one of the NHL's own broadcast partners, no less) have the league feeling pretty defensive about the changes. Honestly, the "this is bad" stories that I've read about the new jerseys have outnumber the "this is good" stories by about 15 to 1. We'll find out soon enough. Who knows, maybe it will actually look good. I'm trying to keep an open mind but I'm fully prepared to be righteously indignant about yet another wrong-headed change to my game. Hearing lots of murming about how these new unis are going to be "edgy" and "out there" to appeal to the kids, all of which makes me exceedingly nervous. Past attempts by the league to be "edgy" and "out there" to appeal to the kids have been disasters...
Speaking of which, next year they're switching back to having the home team where white, which I'm not a big fan of. Back in the day, the home team wore dark (Bruins wore black at home, Leafs wore blue, Wings wore red, etc.). Right up thru the Bobby Orr days, that's how they did it. I prefer it, but apparently it confuses Americans because they are used to the home team wearing white. Whatever.
Oh, and here's a uniform note for you: Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said, “We will eventually go back to red, white, and blue [as the team’s colors].”
-Ricardo
