Is Reebok in the process of replacing all NHL jerseys at company expense with new uniforms made of the old materials, as reported on a Boston Herald blog Thursday.
Not according to NHL senior vice president of communications Bernadette Mansur, who said today that while Reebok is not jettisoning the new design, it is modifying them on a player-by-player basis, depending upon their individual needs.
“There are certain panels on the front of the jersey which are being replaced with a performance fabric, an air-knit fabric,” said Mansur. “They are being given to the players who are requesting them. There is no going back to the old jerseys, no. It’s just the use of an alternate (fabric) to resolve specific issues.”
There have been issues with the Reebok Edge uniform system since the outset and the company has been trying to address them since training camp. The two most common complaints – that for players who perspire heavily, their equipment is getting drenched because the new system works too well at wicking the sweat away; and that they tear too easily, a problem some players are running into, mostly during fights.
Mansur said that Reebok had already begun tweaking some of the designs, even before player reaction became a public issue.
“For example, Chara (Bruins’ 6-foot-9 defenceman Zdeno), he had – prior to the launch of the season – lots of changes, size-wise and all that. Those changes have been done and are continuing to be done.”
Mansur couldn’t say how many players were affected by the change, but added: “I can tell you, it’s not the whole Boston Bruins’ team. It’s not. There are select players on the team.
“For those players who had issues with the new jerseys, and I say that because not every player had, this is part of the ongoing process of listening to players and giving them what they want.”
