NHL Jerseys Mean More Money and Nothing More

Forget that more injuries will occur as a result of the new, tight-fitting (they conform), Reebok jerseys the NHL has made every NHL team switch to. What about the sweat? After all, that is one of the reasons the NHL apparentely made the switch, right?

This from the Calgary Sun:

Traditionalists still call a hockey uniform a sweater.

Having now sampled the new, high-tech togs unveiled by all 30 NHL teams this year for a handful of pre-season games, Flames players are understanding why the word sweat is in sweater.

"My undershirt is just soaked," said forward Owen Nolan. "I find I'm changing them in between periods and a lot more frequently than before. I feel like I'm working out in a sauna."

The new uniform system unveiled by RBK has benefits. Sweaters are lighter, are apparently more wind resistant and repel moisture.

However, while moisture doesn't soak in from the outside, it doesn't release from inside the uniform. That means players are becoming saturated in their own sweat.

"With the other ones, you had holes and got more of a breeze in there -- maybe that's why you got that drying out effect," said blueliner Cory Sarich. "These seem to heat you up more because there's not that two-way air flow.

"Besides, the jerseys don't feel much different than the old ones. I don't know if they've accomplished what they want. From talking to guys, I don't feel they're making a difference on the ice."

Moreover, players around the league are complaining their gloves are becoming so full of sweat they have to change them constantly.

Also, their skates are filling like buckets, and that's not a piece of equipment they want to change mid-game.

The article goes on to talk about how elastic the jerseys are and how they are adversly affecting the fight game.

But seriously folks, this all doesn't matter. Forget tradition. Forget what the players want. This is about money, green, revenue, funds in the pockets of the owners, a Commissioner keeping his job. You get my point.