SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 26: San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn, left, poses for a photograph with General Manager Mike Grier, right, during a press conference at SAP Center on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. Quinn is the tenth head coach for the Sharks organization. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The San Jose Sharks have made changes to nearly every aspect of their hockey operations department this offseason. Perhaps they’re ready to make some noticeable adjustments to their home and away uniforms as well.
Icethetics, a website that tracks logo and uniform design changes in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL, reported the Sharks are considering a complete redesign of their current uniforms, which they’ve had since the start of the 2013-14 season.
The reported new jerseys bear a closer resemblance to the Sharks’ original uniforms from the early 1990s.
Images of the Adidas-designed uniforms under consideration were first leaked Saturday on Twitter. The most striking aspect of the home uniforms is that they are nearly all teal, including pants, helmets, and gloves.
The home jerseys also have black and white stripes circling the elbow area on the sleeves, and around the waistline and socks. The single burnt orange stripe on the sleeves and socks for both the home and away uniforms has been eliminated.
The white away jerseys feature teal and black stripes around the elbow area, the waistline, and the socks. The pants remain teal but the helmets are white. The jerseys the Sharks have mainly used the last nine seasons did not have stripes around the waist.
The @SanJoseSharks will be issuing a rebrand for the 2023-24 season a team source tells going mainly teal. pic.twitter.com/y2GRgRXRAO
— Ali Murji (@AliMurji1) September 4, 2022
The new home jersey collar would be black, and the collar on the away jersey would be black with teal trim.
Icethetics reported these uniforms would be the final designs, with one potential change being black pants – as the Sharks currently wear – instead of teal ones. The biggest question appears to be whether the Sharks will debut the uniforms this season or in 2023-24.
A Sharks representative said the team is not commenting on the speculation “at this time,” although the report was not denied.
mockup of the leaks. unsure what the shoulder patch will be, though. https://t.co/6WY1PFYeVe pic.twitter.com/yGhqbdsccB
— carter richard (@carterrichardd) September 4, 2022
The San Jose Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, will have three new jerseys for the upcoming seasons, ones in white, gray, and black, as they begin their first season at Tech CU Arena. In a YouTube video, Icethetics noted that the numbering on the Barracuda’s jerseys matches that of the Sharks’ reported new jerseys.
The Sharks have made wholesale changes to their front office and coaching staff this summer, including naming Mike Grier as general manager on July 5 and David Quinn as head coach on July 26
The Sharks also added several new players via trade or free agency, including forwards Oskar Lindblom, Luke Kunin, and Nico Sturm, and defensemen Matt Benning and Markus Nutivaara. Training camp begins Sept. 22 and the Sharks open their season with games against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 7 and 8 in Prague.
ESPN reported in July that Adidas will not seek to continue being the NHL’s official supplier of uniforms and apparel after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka