The New Jersey Devils have gone winless in their fancy heritage jerseys made by Adidas. Can superstition change uniform decisions?
The New Jersey Devils hit rock bottom on Saturday afternoon. They were given eight, count them, eight power play opportunities from their Hudson River Rivals the New York Rangers. Not only were they shut out in the game, but the Rangers scored two shorthanded goals against them en route to a 4-0 defeat.
They were wearing their special red, green and white jerseys specially made by Adidas. The heritage jerseys were a huge hit with Devils fans. We’ve been asking for a third jersey for a while, and while many seem to dislike bringing the green back in other jerseys, the fact that these were white seemed to make that a much easier transition.
It probably had something to do with the fact that it looks much less like an ugly Christmas sweater than the usual throwback Devils jersey. This one felt sleek, and while it’s not the black alternate many hope the Devils one day add, it is a really good alternate.
However, it may be time to retire the jersey before it gains traction. The Devils are absolutely terrible every time they wear the jersey on the ice. It started on December 23rd, 2018. The Devils wore the red and green jerseys for the first time right before Christmas (likely not a coincidence), this team hoped to give fans a present in their fancy new jersey. Instead, they were dominated all game, and ended up losing 3-0.
In all, the Devils are now 0-5 in the heritage jersey, with the latest loss coming to their hated rivals. They’ve lost to three division rivals and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the jersey. This is awful.
Can the Devils really change their schedule because they keep losing? They likely have a contract with Adidas to wear the jersey a certain amount of times each season. It’s almost a lock they will wear the jerseys on retro night January 7th against the New York Islanders. It feels like we’re stuck with the jerseys at least for this season. However, if the Devils could make some slight alterations to next year’s version of the jersey, it could possibly take off the bad juju.