The Nashville Predators have somehow found a way to make the New Jersey Devils look good.
On Thursday, the Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning revealed their Stadium Series jerseys for their upcoming outdoor game in Tennessee on February 26, 2022. The game will be the second of three outdoor games the NHL will host this season, with the first being the upcoming Winter Classic in Minnesota on New Year’s Day.
It’s been a very… chaotic time in the NHL recently when it comes to jersey reveals, after the fiasco that was the Devils’ “jersey” jersey and slow drip of Winter Olympic sweaters over the last week. If you thought those Devils’ monstrosities were bad, take a look at what the Predators unveiled to the public.
The Predators' Stadium Series jersey: pic.twitter.com/pTwLaojtzL
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) December 2, 2021
🤩
The primary crest pays tribute to the fans with the SMASHVILLE mark, and the look was inspired by letterpress music posters which are part of Nashville's rich history.
>> https://t.co/AK3IoFl1Yj pic.twitter.com/QP0fQ0rHnj
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) December 2, 2021
That’s a big old yikes from me! The yellow stripe in the middle of a blue jersey isn’t too bad, and the back with the white numbers look quite nice, but the large “SMASHVILLE” text with the guitar pick is just… bad. The guitar pick by itself would have just made a better primary logo than the mess we have now.
And, by comparison, look at how clean the Lightning’s jerseys are with the asymmetrical blue border on the bottom and the lightning bolt accented script.
Let’s take a closer look. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/UC8rXDlxJa
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 2, 2021
What an absolutely massive fumble from Nashville here. And it’s honestly not that surprising given the terrible jerseys we’ve had to deal with recently in hockey. Most of all, I’m just disappointed.
As expected, NHL fans tore into the Predators’ ugly design immediately upon it gracing social media.