The St. Louis Blues are the latest team to make an unexpected JerseyWatch appearance in 2019-20. After the L.A. Kings unveiled a ’90s throwback last Friday, the Blues announced today that they’ll have a “new commemorative jersey” for 2019-20. That’s in addition to their regular home, road, and heritage jerseys.
The club’s fourth uniform will be unveiled next Saturday, September 14 just prior to their training camp practice at 9:45 AM CT. The press release announced the jersey will be worn for three home games during the season but didn’t get into any detail about the design—apart from describing it as a “commemorative.”
What the jersey will commemorate remains to be seen, but the Blues certainly have a lot to celebrate this year. They’re fresh off their first-ever Stanley Cup championship and they’re hosting the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend in January. But what if they’re taking a look back? I suppose all we have is speculation for the next 10 days.
Could it be as simple as a white version of the heritage jersey? We saw that for the Winter Classic Alumni Game in 2017.
What about a ’90s throwback? A handful of teams have been doing that lately—the Coyotes, Kings, and even the Ducks in their own way. Remember these?
I’m not necessarily sure this is a look worth “commemorating” with the rather inexplicable red accents. It didn’t last long. By 1998, the Blues switched to a two-tone blue palette. That said, it does have a bit of a cult following amongst Blues fans. Plus, it was the uniform Wayne Gretzky wore during his brief stint in St. Louis.
There are a couple of other interesting throwback possibilities in the background of that photo above, but none really memorable enough to a warrant a special Adizero jersey in my opinion.
Oddly enough, arguably one of the most memorable jerseys in Blues history was never actually worn for a game. I know you’ve seen this photo before. It’s the third jersey St. Louis was supposed to wear in 1996 before head coach Mike Keenan supposedly put the kibosh on it.
The world is certainly better for never having seen this in an actual NHL game, but wouldn’t it be a trip to finally see it in 2019? It’ll never happen, but all this speculation gave me an excuse to post it on the blog again.
By the way, this infamous photo was printed in a 2002 book called Note By Note, published by the Blues for their 35th anniversary. And that trumpet-covered sweater wasn’t the only gem hidden within. On the opposite page is a collection of concept designs apparently considered by the team in 1994.
Could one of these finally make an appearance on the ice? Doubtful. But while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget about the original unused Blues jerseys first seen in 1966 after the franchise was awarded. This image of original team owner Sid Salomon III and general manager Lynn Patrick appeared in the local newspaper.
If you’re interested in the whole backstory of these jerseys, St. Louis Game Time wrote about it in 2016.
It was a design never actually worn by players until a half-century later. After the Blues hosted the Winter Classic in 2017, they put on another event at Busch Stadium before the ice was removed, called the One Nation Classic. The main event was the Blues Skills Competition, in which players wore replicas of those original prototypes.
So the Blues have an interesting history of jersey they’ve never actually worn in an NHL game. Maybe that’ll change this year? Or maybe not. The truth is, I have no idea what to expect from this team next Saturday. I’ll be as eager to see as everyone else.
Along with today’s teaser announcement, the Blues also divulged the dates when we can expect to see the heritage third jersey in 2019-20. It’ll be worn for 11 home games, each of which have been added to the handy Icethetics Jersey Calendar. Three of the 11 are against the Stars and the last date is February 29, meaning no third jersey action in March or April. Is that when we’ll see the new mystery jersey?
What’s your prediction for this new St. Louis Blues sweater? Are there any possibilities from the past that I skipped over?
