Could The Jets Have Four Official Jerseys Next Season?

Icethetics is a fantastic site for those of us who love hockey jerseys and want all the latest info on what may be coming down the road. Recently they published “JerseyWatch 2020” which is their annual look at the rumors, concepts and news about potential new sweaters and this year the big item seems to be that various NHL teams will be getting a “fourth jersey”

The @Winnipeg Jets in just this season alone have actually worn five different jerseys at various times. There of course is your standard home and away along with the *ever popular* “Aviator Blue” jersey that is officially the team’s alternate uni. The Jets though just this season have also worn not only the new “Heritage Blue” jersey that they debuted for the Hermitage Classic against the @Calgary Flames in Regina near the start of the season, but the team has also rocked it’s “Heritage White” look that was first used during the 2016 Heritage Classic against the @Edmonton Oilers and has been used in at least one game per season since (typically the Jets Hall Of Fame / Alumni Night) except for this season.

As Icethetics correctly points out, neither of the Heritage jerseys are considered an alternate by the Jets, which begs the question if that will change for next season and if the Jets are going to go with just four jerseys, which ones will make the cut?

In my opinion, there are four ways they can go with this…

Conventional wisdom suggests that the Jets like what they have for their current set (say what you want about the Aviator, it’s a unique look within the league and kids love them bright colors) and then just pick one of the two Heritage jerseys to be the “fourth jersey.” Since blue would be more ideal for use in front of the home fans, the Heritage Blue jersey gets to stay. Maybe the white heritage jersey gets brought out for one single Alumni night… Come to think of it, this is what is kind of happening now, so maybe nothing really changes.

At best the Aviator alternate is a divisive jersey with most Jets fans just tolerating it. Most consider it a bad luck jersey, some feel despite the sky/power blue color, it’s a little on the boring side (no shoulder patches or yoke and both Heritage jerseys have been proven to be far more popular with most fans. Would the Jets shelve the Aviator after just a couple of seasons in favor of the two Heritage jerseys that more than likely might sell better? Perhaps…

There are some pretty common themes with most hockey jersey sets in the NHL and the most common is that both home and away feature the same team crest on both with maybe a little color inverting such as we see in Toronto or Tampa Bay. Rarely does a team go with a different logo on the road than they do at home – think Carolina with their standard logo on the home jerseys, but the diagonal “CANES” now gracing their road kit. Would the Jets go this route in order to save both the Aviator, use both Heritage jerseys while still maintaining the OG 2.0 logo? Doesn’t seem likely, but it’s an idea.

Lastly, this. If I had a nickle for every time I saw someone look at either of the Heritage jerseys and say “this should be the Jets full time logo / jersey” I’d be able to afford a lot of Jets Dogs. Maybe the Jets just bend to the public will again, change up the logo to reflect the popular Heritage look and then keep the jerseys with the other two logos around for fun.