Buffalo Sabres, fans should cringe if the NHL signs with Nike
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported the NHL and supplier Adidas will part ways after 2023-24. Cringe-worthy news if you love the Buffalo Sabres traditional look.
And while some fans will likely welcome the change, it does bring fears that Nike could potentially become a candidate to take over as the official uniform supplier. You should be cringing by imagining what they could do to the Buffalo Sabres look if this becomes a reality.
Over the years, the Sabres have become one of very few NHL teams that pulled off not one but two fantastic color schemes and logos. You could even say they are among the very few of the 124 North American pro sports teams to have accomplished such a feat.
The royal blue and gold are timeless while the red and black goathead look will always remain a fixture in Sabres lore. The latter would be welcomed to return as a throwback or even as an alternate. And perhaps that’s all the further Nike will go if they were to supply the NHL and the Sabres. But recent history states otherwise. Let’s look at their track record.
Buffalo Sabres fans should cringe if Nike takes over as the NHL’s official uniform supplier given their tendency to create completely irrelevant uniforms.
In 2012, Nike took over as the official uniform supplier of the NFL. And while some teams have improved for the better, they have also come out with a plethora of ill-fated designs. Here are just a few of their failures:
- The Color Rush – You can put an asterisk beside this one, as some teams, like the Buffalo Bills, did pull this one off. But most of the NFL ditched the concept.
- Jacksonville Jaguars two-toned helmets (2013-2017).
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers digital alarm-clock uniform (2014-2019).
- The Cleveland Browns 2015 to 2019 look was so unpopular they actually opted to wear their Color Rush uniform in 2019 as the primary.
- The New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons constantly rank low in most uniform rankings.
On the plus side, Nike has done a few good things. They did bring the Los Angeles Chargers into a nostalgic look. Nike also improved the Cincinnati Bengals uniforms, and they have respected many teams’ insistence to either return to, or remain with a more traditional look. It is important to note here that teams must approve Nike’s designs.
Thankfully, the Bills learned their lesson during the Reebok Era (2002-2010). Nike has also taken over as the MLB’s and NBA’s official uniform suppliers. And in many cases, they unveiled special uniforms, like City Edition (NBA) and City Connect (MLB) looks, whose color schemes have nothing to do with the franchises wearing the uniform.
So, let’s shift gears back to the NHL. What would Nike do to the Buffalo Sabres?
City Edition/Connect Uniform?
Knowing that Nike loves to draw inspiration from the cities themselves, my guess is that they would place the Buffalo Sabres into a uniform with a color scheme they have never worn. Buffalo’s city flag is navy blue and white, with an outer insignia that resembles something the Tampa Bay Lightning would wear.
If Nike were to create a City Edition uniform for the Sabres, odds are they would look more like the Lightning than the Sabres, with Nike claiming they drew inspiration from the city flag colors and the lightning bolt-like outer insignia. Or, they may take something from the Seal of Buffalo, which would be a bit more tolerable.
Buffalo also has many nicknames like the Queen City, which I often refer to it. But, one nickname that jumps out at me is Nickel City. And if you remember correctly, the Bills experimented with nickel gray as an accent color once upon a time. The ill-fated color would probably be right up Nike’s alley.
As for the sweater logo, my projection is that it would comprise either the current logo or even the goathead. Both of which I would be okay with. But, Buffalo is also known as the Queen City of the Lakes or the City of Trees.
So it wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to design the logo as a reflection in the lake with perhaps deciduous trees surrounding the logo’s outer perimeter. And if you think this is a far-fetched idea, I urge you to check out some of their MLB City Connect creations. Nike did this with the wildly unpopular San Francisco Giants set when they tried to emulate fog rising from the Golden Gate Bridge. One of San Francisco’s nicknames happens to be Fog City or City of Fog.
As mentioned, most everything in some of these color schemes have nothing to do with the franchise themselves, like the Boston Red Sox’s powder blue and yellow uniform.
Alternate Uniforms
Knowing Nike, I could see them putting the Buffalo Sabres into some crazy alternate uniform that combines the team’s history, or something strange. They would probably call it something akin to the Icon or Statement uniforms in the NBA.
So yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did something like the goathead look with the team’s current colors, or even the ill-fated navy, silver, and gold color scheme when most fans just want to see the original goathead look return as an alternate.
I was looking at some of the alternate helmet designs in the NFL for the season and most of them, from first glance, are what you know will be heading for the discard pile within a season or two. For example, the Philadelphia Eagles will be ditching the black alternates in favor of the Kelly green classics – thank goodness – in 2023.
However, Adidas came out with an incredible idea a few years back called Reverse Retro. Most of those uniforms looked good (Buffalo Sabres look was spot-on), so perhaps Nike, if they became the supplier, would follow suit.
But then again, knowing Nike, it also wouldn’t surprise me if they combined old and new, but did something so dramatic the result, at best, would polarize fan bases. Like adding those city elements or colors I talked about earlier.
Not all doom and gloom…
Anyway, now for the upside. As I mentioned earlier, at the absolute least, the respective teams would need to agree to such radical and even polarizing redesigns. So of course, Terry and Kim Pegula could just say, “No thank-you, Nike.”
Or, Nike could convince ownership to, “Just try it.” And the next thing you know, a snowball effect occurs. Again, cringe-worthy when you own one of the league’s most iconic logo and uniform sets. Yeah, if you’re the Vegas Golden Knights or the Seattle Kraken, go as uniform crazy as you want. Even if you expanded into the NHL in the 1990s. It may be worth it.
But older, classic, timeless looks like those the Sabres wear and have worn should not be subjected to Nike’s uniform approach. Or goodness, at least run it by the fans first. And if the fans do want something drastic, I can at least sleep at night knowing it was their decision and not ultimately Nike’s and the Pegulas’.
Anyway, you can disagree with everything I have written and embrace something Nike’s drastic designs. But since the Buffalo Sabres have pulled off a timeless thing of beauty with their uniforms, twice, as I have stated multiple times in this article, there is no way I would endorse something so polarizing that Nike has become famous, or infamous, for. Depending on how you feel.
light. Related Story. Ranking the four most recent uniform sets
We will see what the NHL decides to do in the near future. Until then, I will enjoy some of the fine alternate uniforms the Buffalo Sabres have worn, like the Reverse Retros and Heritage Classic looks.
Article Sources: Adidas won’t seek to renew NHL uniform and apparel deal after 2023-24 season, league says by Greg Wyshynski
Report: Adidas Exiting NHL Uni Deal After 2023-24 by Paul Lukas