Buffalo Sabres: Reviewing the 50th anniversary jerseys

With their 50th anniversary on the horizon, the Buffalo Sabres revealed a new third jersey. Unlike their on-ice performance in the past few years, the jersey seems to be a success.

The Buffalo Sabres are celebrating their 50th year as a franchise next season. Unfortunately for the hockey faithful of upstate New York, the highlights of the team’s half-century of existence is a few near misses at hockey ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup.

While the Sabres might be eager to celebrate their history, their recent history of the past decade is one to be buried into hockey’s history books.

NHL teams love commemorating significant franchise anniversaries. Most of the time this is done with a small change, such as a commemorate patch or an extra sticker on the helmet. The Sabres decided to go all out on not only a commemorative third jersey but small changes of significance to their entire uniform.

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The jersey itself is mostly the same as Buffalo’s current jersey. The most noticeable change is the gold stitching adorning the logo, as well as five stripes on the sleeve representing the 50 years of the team. A less noticeable change is the departure of navy blue to royal blue, along with the team’s main jersey making the switch as well.

According to The Buffalo News, the new jersey comes with white gloves, hearkening back to the franchise’s debut color scheme, as well as past logos on the jersey’s neckline. No word on if the infamous “Buffaslug” logo is featured.

Immediate fan reaction to the new threads on twitter seem overwhelmingly positive. With retro jerseys on the rise in the NHL, this is a welcome mix of the old and new. You have the Sabres classic logo, along with the gold giving an extra bit of attention. Add in the white gloves for a bit of a historical throwback. Put it all together and you have a jersey that feels old, yet contemporary, at the same time.

As for the five stripes, they seem largely unnecessary. It’s hard to imagine fans years from now will look back at that jersey and appreciate the significance of them. The gold-embroidered buffalo crest should do all the talking that this team has been around for 50 years.

The Sabres have committed to wearing their 50th-anniversary threads for a plethora of games for the upcoming 2019-2020 NHL season. If you’re going to see the Sabres more than a few times at KeyBank Center, there’s more than a good chance you’ll catch one them. And if you don’t like them, remember it could be worse.

They could have brought back the Buffaslug. Anything but the Buffaslug.