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New Year, New Beginnings (or Revivals)- Part 4 Seattle

With the dawn of the New Year upon us I decided to explore the possibilities of relocation and expansion. In this excessively informal post, I’ve taken a look at what some of the best concept jerseys are for teams that no longer exist, but should (or possible expansion teams). In each case, I’ve looked at numerous designs, courtesy of Icethetics.co and the forums over at Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net, and highlighted the ones that I would pick if I were the owner of a new franchise looking to establish its identity.

Check out Parts 1, 2, and 3 if you haven’t already!

Expanding or Relocating to Seattle

The easiest thing for a Seattle NHL team to do is to take the name of the current Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. Why? Because these jerseys encompass everything to do with professional sports teams in Seattle. They’re unique, quirky, bold, and just look at those stripes, the colors! For a region that religiously follows the Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders, it makes sense to equal that passion with an NHL organization. I’ve seen the updated version of these jerseys, but they don’t do enough justice when it comes to fitting in with the rest of Seattle’s teams.

These jerseys are simple and yet they are electrifying. The unique stripping pattern sets them apart from every other team in the league and the never before seen frontal-centered placement of the jersey numbers exemplify the professional quirkiness of the Seattle market (and that’s a good thing).

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To give you more insight as to how I ultimately decided on what jerseys the Seattle Thunderbirds (NHL edition) would support, here’s a look at a few designs I considered.

In fairness, I considered these as a unique set of uniforms, however some of the design elements reek too much of the early RBK Edge days.

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I’m a fan of the Metropolitans moniker, but that probably wouldn’t sit well with the league given the fact that the Metropolitan Division is, well, the Metropolitan Division. Also, these concept jerseys look too much like the Dallas Stars, thereby lacking individuality.

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These would look good in the league, however they are a bit cookie cutter design. I am a fan of the color scheme and even more so a fan of the third jersey. If there were ever an outdoor Vancouver and Seattle game, this third jersey would be the one to sport outdoors.

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That’s it for this week. Tune in next week for the penultimate part of “New Year, New Beginnings”. You’re definitely not going to want to miss it.

By Nick Lanciani

10 years experience working various roles in sports, plus I like to paint in my spare time. Maybe I'll go to grad school next. Anyway, I write stuff on Down the Frozen River, make/appear on podcasts, used to write stuff for Couch Guy Sports and apply to full-time jobs for a living.