Buys and Sells: Enough with Black Third Jerseys Edition

Each Friday throughout the season, I'll provide you with my predictions on whose stock is on the rise and whose is failing miserably like an American bank. It's a neat little segment entitled Buys and Sells. There are a few teams/players/issues to buy and a few to sell.

Glad to see you back here today. I hope that you had a good Thanksgiving and are one of the lucky folks who has today off. Today there's only one topic, but trust me, we'll make it worth the read. I'm starting to feel like Andy Rooney. The crazy guy at the end of the show, except in this case it's the end of the week. That's OK, I'm pretty sure what I'm saying is fairly coherent, which I can't always say about Andy. Anyway, on to the Buys and Sells!

Sell: Black Third Jerseys. Now, until recently, I didn't have any problem with NHL teams wearing black jerseys. In fact they looked pretty bad ass for the most part. But now that almost everyone has simply pulled a cop-out when it comes to their third jersey, it's not something I can get behind. Seriously, what's so special about a third jersey if they're all going to look the same? Well, maybe they're special, but the creativity that we've seen out of so many NHL marketing departments over the years has been completely thrown out the window. It's almost like, when designing their new jerseys, some of them got together and had a 10-second long meeting.

"We need a third jersey, what are our options?"

"How about a black version of our home jersey?"

"Brilliant! Get it done!"

By my count, with a little help from the fine folks at Icethetics, six teams have already implemented black third jerseys and the Kings are expected to be the seventh soon. And the worst part? Almost all of them show little, if any, creativity. Isn't that what the third jersey is all about? It's supposed to be something different and new that inspires -- let's be honest here -- jersey sales.

Take a look at the six teams that have already released black third jerseys:

• Boston Bruins
• Phoenix Coyotes
• Ottawa Senators
  
• Carolina Hurricanes
• Chicago Blackhawks
• San Jose Sharks

Notice any patterns? Well, with the exception of the Senators, all these teams did was take a black jersey, put some stripes on the sleeves, and slap a logo on it. Seriously. That's it. And fans of these teams are supposed to want to buy these... Why? Maybe it goes over a little better in Chicago, where the new third is just a black version of their regular jerseys. With an original six franchise, you certainly can't expect them to re-invent the wheel. They usually nod to tradition and that is understandable.

But in San Jose, which has been in existence for barely two decades, isn't not nearly as excusable. Teal stripes, their current logo and, as the Rolling Stones would say, paint it black. Seriously. That's it. One last question before I get off my soapbox -- were the Bruins even trying?