Martin Brodeur is a Hockey Hall of Famer, commercial actor, and business executive. The goaltender is not a graphic designer, illustrator, or marketer in any way. Yet the Devils gave Marty an oversized role in the design process of their first third jersey in its 47-year team history.
Tuesday, the Devils unveiled the new sweater and it’s both simple and different. But it’s up to you, the reader, if it’s ultimately successful.
The Devils’ jerseys are black and white, featuring JERSEY in a legible script font across the chest of the jersey. There are 21 white stripes on the shoulders, arms, and waist in honor of the 21 counties in the state of New Jersey. There are no shoulder patches or logos. The team’s iconic red color can only be found in a secondary outline behind the words and numbers.
The sweaters are loosely based on the jerseys the Newark Bulldogs and River Vale Skeeters wore in the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s.
Here’s a closer look from Adidas Hockey.
According to a Greg Wyshynski feature ESPN story, Brodeur and Jillian Frechette, senior vice president of marketing for the Devils, were the “driving forces” behind the sweaters. The two Devils reps also worked closely with executives from Adidas and the NHL.
A jersey designed by the 🐐 for Jersey.#NJDevils | #MadeinJersey
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 23, 2021
Brodeur and Frechette shared ideas with each other via phone before narrowing the concept down to a script font. The biggest undertaking apparently was picking the right typeface.
“Our [typical] logo is simple, easy to recognize,” Brodeur said to Wyshynski. “Now you’re talking about writing on the front of a jersey. When you’re 30 rows away from the ice, how well are you going to be able to see it and recognize what it says? But I think we really hit it. Especially when we added the red near the end of the process.”
The red outlines on the stitched words and numbers indeed harken back to the team. Without it, nothing else would.
Jack in black. 😎 pic.twitter.com/FVzKZKq9At
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 23, 2021
“I wish we could have played in this,” Brodeur said. “It’s just a cool thing.”
Social media has been divided on if the new jerseys are successful or not. Many Devils fans are excited. Former Devils player Patrik Elias shared his enthusiasm on Instagram.
“I am loving the new jerseys for the Devs!” Elias wrote.
Meanwhile, Steve Dangle took a potshot a the organization releasing a new Clothes Clothes line.
EXCLUSIVE: How hockey legend @Steve_Dangle helped create sdpn's new Clothes Clothes.
He said, "Call it the damn thing."https://t.co/7L6lhi43vl pic.twitter.com/JpmiNkiFuV
— sdpn (@sdpnsports) November 23, 2021
The Devils, aware of the online jokes, posted this rebuttal, making fun of themselves.
Coming soon… maybe. pic.twitter.com/Aq2wUWZYS0
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 23, 2021
The Devils’ third jerseys and related merch are now available for purchase in the NHL’s online store.
What do you think of the jerseys?
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Headline photo: @adidashockey
