The Buffalo Sabres are known for Pat LaFontaine, Dominik Hasek and awful jerseys. Finally, they’re owning up to the last one.
A month after the Sabres revealed their new third jerseys — widely mocked for looking more like the thrift store cast-off of a community college floor hockey club than the uniform of an NHL franchise — team president Ted Black finally commented on the reaction to the new sweaters.
In a moment of honesty, Black admitted in a radio interview he is prepared for the possibility that not much money will to be made with the new jerseys.
“If it doesn’t sell, it won’t really mean anything to our bottom line,” Black told Howard Simon on WGR 550. “It’s a third jersey.”
But then things got way too honest when Black said they might not just look terrible, they could sell terribly.
“If it’s a turd burger, I’ll have to put it on a bun and eat it,” he said. “It’s the way it is.”
Steve Ott and the rest of the Sabres are scheduled to debut the jerseys against Detroit on Nov. 24 and Black promised that they’ll “wear it proudly for 10 games.” After that first run, it’s hard to say just what the Sabres players will feel — other than colorblind — when wearing them.
Black is aware of the possible misstep the organization may have made, though, and is open to using focus groups in the future. “If we do this again, when we do this again, I don’t think [using a focus group is] a bad idea.”
Photo via Twitter/otterN9NE
