Puck 'N Hockey

The 2011 Winter Classic press conference today was as boring as expected.  Being brutally honest, if you got excited to watch Doc Emrick, the NHL executive stooges, and some players taking a break from fishing and golf to stand around and talk about a single game that is almost 5 months away, you need to seek professional help.  The most interesting part of the whole event was the unveiling of the Capitals and Penguins logos that will be used on the Winter Classic uniforms.

Tommy Williams in "the white pants" (Maryland Pro Sports)

As expected, the Caps will sport the club’s original logo.  The lingering question now is which variation of the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s uniforms will they wear?

My personal vote is for a return of the controversial white pants.  That presents a challenge in the era of the dark colored home, NHL uniforms.  In their inaugural season, the Capitals wore white pants with their red sweaters as their away uniforms (until the white pants became stained with perspiration and they got league approval to wear the blue pants).  Now that dark home uniforms are the norm, I expect that the Pens will probably wear some variation of those blue uniforms made popular after their first Winter Classic appearance.

However, the Pittsburgh Penguins may see an opportunity to sell some extra merchandise this season and opt for a white home uniform when they host the Winter Classic.  If they do, that could pave the way for the triumphant return of the white pants.

Are we really talking about what uniforms two teams will wear in a regular season game that is 5 months away?