It’s been a couple of weeks since I last checked in on the blog, and there have been a few developments. So this edition of Loose Threads should cover all our bases.

New Bruins jersey reportedly leaks

We’ll start with a possible first look at a new Boston Bruins sweater. This comes from CBS Sports writer Pete Blackburn. On Monday morning, he tweeted: “The Bruins are apparently gonna have a gold alternate jersey next season.”

He followed that up two hours later, producing a visual aide captioned: “Here’s the Bruins’ reverse retro jersey leak.”

I’m not entirely sure what we’re seeing here, but It looks like a picture of a paper printout. It certainly seems to depict an Adizero jersey—one never before seen as far as I know.

Blackburn described it as an “alternate” but, rather than being a third jersey, it looks to me like something from the new Reverse Retro collection that’s reportedly getting a league-wide reveal some time this month.

Blackburn didn’t cite a source and I can’t yet confirm it independently, but the design follows the leaks we’ve seen to this point. All of them have been designs lifted from the 1990s with some colors swapped.

This one fits that bill. It’s identical to the black sweater the Bruins wore from 1981 to 1995 if you swap all the gold for black and vice versa. Only the logos have remained untouched on these Reverse Retro designs.

I don’t have any specific knowledge of what the Bruins are doing, but if this is a fake, it’s a really good one. I’d expect to see Boston in this next season.

Blue Jackets may be getting new pants

Last Friday, Max Domi, newly acquired by the Columbus Blue Jackets, took to social media to share his “new threads.” He’s plainly in practice gear except eagle-eyed jersey nerds like us noticed his navy blue pants.

The Blue Jackets normally wear red pants with a blue cuff. These pants are blue with a red cuff—reversed. So that got me thinking...

Is it possible we could see the Blue Jackets in a red sweater? I’ve taken their inaugural season white jersey and swapped the white with red—a simple color switch just like the other Reverse Retros have done. What we get here is pretty wild.

I’m not saying this will be their jersey, but the reversed pants did get me thinking.

Am I overthinking? Could the Blue Jackets simply be switching pants colors next season? Would be a lot of navy blue.

I’ll also point out that the Blue Jackets do actually wear navy blue pants with their third jersey already, but there’s no red—just an off white stripe up the hip to match the sweater and socks. So these are new. What they’re for exactly, remains to be seen. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

Capitals ready to revive the ’90s too?

Speaking of red jerseys, another report I keep meaning to address comes from prolific Icethetics concept contributor Lucas Daitchman. His latest Washington Capitals design isn’t his usual flight of fancy. It’s based on information he’s apparently been given about the Caps’ Reverse Retro plans.

Again, we’re looking at a jersey ripped straight from the 1990s. The notable difference here when compared to the others is that it doesn’t reverse the historical colors, but rather swaps them with modern colors. In fairness, of the jerseys we’ve seen so far, those teams had the same colors in the ’90s as they do today—except for Vegas which seems to be doing the same thing the Washington is doing.

Back in January, I published a concept very similar to this, created by Alan John Herbert—long before the Reverse Retro discussion began. It would be remarkable if it turned out to be accurate.

Daitchman brought his information to Caps blog Russian Machine Never Breaks, who claimed to have received a similar report.

In full disclosure, Daitchman shared his information with me as well (third hand) in October, but there was a lot of use of the phrase “take this with a grain of salt“ throughout the discussion, so I wasn’t prepared to publish immediately. I have no idea whether Daitchman and RMNB got their information from the same person but I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least mention it at this point.

As part of my discussion with Daitchman last month, he revealed his source suggested a new third jersey was also in the works for next season—a blue one with a big W on the chest. In fact, the source said the blue jersey inthis concept Daitchman submitted to Icethetics in May (and posted in September) was “basically” accurate. Here’s a closer look.

His design borrows the “W” from the Caps’ 2018 Stadium Series identity. Again, I can’t independently confirm this. But if the Reverse Retro rumor is worth reporting, I figure this is as well.

And for whatever it’s worth, I read somewhere recently that Capitals owner Ted Leonsis may be ready to move on from the throwbacks, particularly when it comes to the team’s alternate uniform. (I’m embarrassed that I can’t remember where I saw it... and man, I really hope I’m not just making this up.)

New Sharks offer peek at 30th patch

Last Monday, two of the newest members of the San Jose Sharks—Devan Dubnyk and Ryan Donato—showed off their new sweaters on social media. Normally that wouldn’t be anything worth writing about, but these jerseys featured a special add-on.

That sure seems to be the Sharks’ 30th anniversary patch right there on the chest. And it looks like the original logo from 1991 as well. Among other things, it gives me hope we could see the Sharks’ original sweaters back again next season—Adizero versions!

The Sharks haven’t officially “unveiled” their anniversary logo. That is, they haven’t started using it yet. But they did retweet both players’ videos with a wink at the presence of the patch.

I have not seen it in any better detail than this, but again, it’s one of those things we should see soon enough.

One other anniversary logo I’m still expecting is a 25th from the Colorado Avalanche. I’m sure it can’t be far off either—although I guess that all depends on when the next season gets underway.

I know this has been a long one, but I’ve got one more thing and I think you’ll be glad you made it all the way down here.

What the heck is this Rangers jersey?

It’s not often I’m stumped by hockey sweaters—especially anything produced in the last decade. But Icethetics reader Tommy Covelli brought me something that really has me scratching my head.

Behold.

Unlike the Indonesia-based seller that leaked the Penguins and Flyers Reverse Retro designs, this seller has a very limited track record and appears to be based in the United States. This particular jersey apparently ships from Tampa, of all places.

So let’s break it down. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the Rangers’ 2018 Winter Classic sweater. Same colors, font design, and shoulder numbers. Was it an early prototype for that Winter Classic? If so, how did it make it to the youth replica phase? That’s what this picture shows.

The Rangers did wear a jersey with the team name arched over the player’s number in 1946. It existed for one season but it existed. That’s more than enough for Winter Classic inspiration to strike. But the Rangers ultimately went with the diagonal layout.

The design seems to be outside the bounds of the Reverse Retros with which we’re all currently preoccupied; there’s no color reversal and Ryan McDonagh was traded to the Lightning in early 2018. Planning for the Reverse Retros reportedly only began about 18 months ago—well after that trade.

Could it have been a third jersey design that was considered and ultimately scrapped? We know the Rangers tested a new design last year that was dead on arrival, but again, that was well after McDonagh’s departure. Maybe it was considered for 2018-19?

Is it just a youth fashion jersey? Is it a rarity or have they been out there and I’ve just never noticed?

As I said, I’m stumped.

So if you’ve seen this before or you know what it’s all about, please share! I’m dying to know. Drop me an email or leave a note in the comments.

And on that mystery, I’ll wrap it up. Thanks for reading.