The new school is the old school is the no school.

At least that's what seems to be happening in the NHL with the new-look jerseys. The Reebok "EDGE" jersey was introduced at last year's all star game to mixed reviews. Especially controversial was the addition of a contrasting colour panel under the arm and down along the side. Some of the talk seemed to die down when Rbk stated that the panel could also be the same colour rather than a contrasting panel, which seemed to satisfy the purists. Indeed, some of the "new" unis introduced in the ramp-up to the 2007-8 season look very much like last year's models.

Montreal went with a version that, except for the v-neck, is indistinguishable from their traditional jerseys. Ottawa, rebels that they are, went for the contrasting panel (white on the red home jerseys and red on the white away jerseys) as well as a slightly updated logo (formerly the third-uniform logo, now promoted because the old one was boring). Meanwhile, Vancouver went old school with the new school, introducing a jersey that is the same green, blue, and white the team wore when they entered the league in the 1970s, oddly paired with a toned-down version of the more recently used orca logo.

Rbk has claimed that the new jerseys are lighter, absorb less moisture, and allow greater freedom of movement. All of which remains to be seen, but they did at least come up with a jersey that can be made a modern or as traditional as individual teams desire.