ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski discusses “Easter Eggs” hidden in the Red Wings and Blue Jackets‘ Stadium Series jerseys:
[NHL VP of marketing and chief branding officer Brian] Jennings said that while Stadium Series jerseys typically have “that progressive, futuristic look” in contrast to the more historic inspirations of the Winter Classic, there’s “a little bit more simplicity” for Detroit’s look, which was by design.
“Detroit being an Original Six team, that have very strong feelings, and [owner] Chris Ilitch and the team communicated that to us,” he said.
What the jerseys lack in boldness, the Red Wings’ helmets make up for it. Detroit’s buckets have a large white stripe down the middle like a football helmet — plus Red Wings logos on each side, making them look a little like Mercury when they’re skating.
“It starts with the sweater, but then it’s how you compliment it. In this case, it’s the helmet that catches that collegiate and youthful look,” Jennings said.
The Red Wings did come to the designers with one unique request: They wanted their octopus mascot represented in some small way. So on the bottom of the jersey in the back, right at the hem, there’s small loop tag with the purple octopus’s eyes on it — a cheeky new innovation for NHL outdoor game jerseys.
“We’ve never, never had this kind of treatment on the jersey before,” [Fanatics’ Dom] Fillion noted. “It’s a nice little Easter egg to discover.”
