The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearing their finish, and both Albertan teams have now been eliminated which has forced all us fans to turn our hopes towards the 2023–24 season.
One of the most exciting things about a new season for many fans is the chance for new jerseys to hit the ice. Next season is the final season that Adidas will be the official on ice supplier of jerseys so there is some extra excitement to see what they do in their last year with the NHL brand.
We already know there won’t be any new Reverse Retro jerseys since its a two year process to design and manufacture that series. But NHL fans can expect to see a number of new special event jerseys to be worn during the first “Battle of Alberta” Heritage Classic which was announced back in December.
It’s very exciting to see one of the most storied rivalries in hockey and even professional sports, I dare say, get the chance to duke it out in a special event game like this.
There are already a number of rumours circulating through the internet giving us some hint of what the jerseys might end up looking like. So we decided we would mock up what we predict both the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will be wearing in Commonwealth Stadium come October.
The Edmonton Oilers
According to Tyler Yaremchuk, he expects the Oilers will take their main inspiration for these jerseys from the Edmonton Mercurys who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and even represented Canada at the 1952 Oslo Olympics where they won the gold medal.
In the neckline of the jersey we also paid tribute to the first ever Battle of Alberta which was played by the Edmonton Thistles and the Calgary Fire Brigade back in 1895. The varsity “E” logo is the logo that the Thistles had on their jerseys at points throughout their existence.
The original Heritage Classic was also played 20 years ago at Commonwealth Stadium in 2003 so I chose to pay some tribute to that by using jersey colours more similar to those of what the Oilers used in that era.
The Calgary Flames
There have been rumours about what the Calgary Flames might end up wearing as well. According to a fairly reliable source in Ali Murji, he expects the Flames to be wearing off-white jerseys with mostly red and possibly some minimal yellow. He also has mentioned the Calgary Stampeders hockey club as a possible inspiration for these jerseys.
In addition to mainly using the Stampeders as an inspiration, I chose to use darker colours similar to those used by the Flames in 2011 Heritage Classic. I feel this adds to the more vintage feel of the jerseys and differentiates them more from the regular jerseys we normally see Calgary wear.
Like with the Oiler jersey, this Flames jersey pays tribute to the Calgary Fire Brigade which won the first Battle of Alberta back in 1895. The “CF” logo used is similar to that worn on the teams jerseys.
For both teams I also chose to use a Yellow and Black NHL logo to pay homage to the leagues original logo, and I also went with a Western Athletic font to show off Alberta’s cowboy aesthetic.
Let us know if you think we got it right
Obviously there is a pretty good chance that the final jerseys that get released next season don’t end up looking like what’s above but if you like what you see, or have any thoughts on what you might hope to see instead, please feel free to let us know on social media or in the comments.
Our friends at The Win Column also released predictions for what the rest of the 2023–24 outdoor games might end up looking and you can check those out too.
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