If the Seattle Kraken are the masters of preventing brand leaks, the Ottawa Senators have to be their complete opposite at this point.
While the Kraken managed to keep a lid on their name and logo designs for many months after it was finalized, the Senators have repeatedly been the victim of unauthorized disclosures going back almost three months.
The latest is a nine-second long video tweeted by @Michael_Zupo earlier this afternoon, which appears to show the Senators’ soon-to-be-released home and road jerseys. The designs mimic the club’s original look from 1992.
The Twitter user reported the video was taken inside the Sens Store, but did not specify a particular location. There are four stores in total, all of which have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Senators.
In the cell phone video, the photographer leafs through a rack of Fanatics-branded jerseys. The design of the black one aligns with the women’s version that leaked last month. The difference is that the men’s version is a direct replica of the game-issued jersey in terms of the collar design and other proportions.
What’s new in this leak is our first look at the white sweater. But a few things caught my eye.
Back in July, Hailey Salvian of The Athletic was the first to report on “mockups” she’d seen of the redesigned jerseys. The described the white one as having “black forearms” and “a red stripe atop a black stripe running around its bottom edge.”
Neither of these details are present in the white jersey in the video. Fanatics-branded NHL replica jerseys do differ from authentics in some ways. For example, it uses different fabrics and there’s no Adidas logo below the collar on the back. But it wouldn’t use fundamentally different colors and striping patterns.
This can lead us to one of two conclusions: either Salvian saw and described a non-finalized rendering of the white jersey, or someone’s attempting to pass off a fake jersey as a leak with this video.
Personally, I tend toward the former. Too many of the details in the video lead me to believe we’re seeing legitimate products. But does mean the Senators seem to be straying from their original look as opposed to replicating it exactly. And it means their sleeve stripes (and possibly socks) will be identical to the New Jersey Devils.
And there’s another small detail worth discussing here. In previous articles, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of color standards. Since you’ve made it this far into an article dissecting a nine-second cell phone video, you might be interested to read this as well.
Since 2007, the Senators have simultaneously employed two different golds—Pantone 1245 (a flat gold that’s good for screen) and Pantone 872 (a metallic gold that shines in print and on fabric). I’ve shown this graphic before.
With the leaks over the summer, it seemed the Sens were shifting more toward 872, the duller shade of gold. But then the official style guide was released with the team’s announcement last month.
The Sens are going with a new gold—neither one of these. Say hello to Pantone 465.
It’s a compromise between 872 and 1245. It has the brightness of 1245 but isn’t quite as yellow. It lacks sparkly effect you get in the jersey crest with 872, but makes up for it with a more regal sheen. You can sort of see it in the video clip, but this gold is not the same as what the Sens have used in the past.
It’s interesting to see this in the same week the Vegas Golden Knights released their unapologetic shiny gold third jersey.
Speaking of third jerseys, eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed the video shows the Sens’ red alternate also hanging on the rack below the new black one. Does that mean the red will be returning for another season as a third? Or that the store is just trying to sell off the rest of its stock? Unclear at this point. Salvian reported a new third was in development, but that could still be a year or two away.
All of that being said, many of our questions should be answered in two days. The Senators will officially unveil their new uniforms ahead of the NHL Draft on Tuesday.