SAN JOSE — The era of teal helmets and pants is officially underway.
As part of an event for premium season ticket holders Wednesday at the recently opened Tech CU Arena, the Sharks officially unveiled new home and away uniforms for the 2022-23 season and beyond, although images of the new uniforms were leaked on social media earlier this month.
The most striking aspect of the “Evolve” uniforms, as the Sharks have dubbed them, are the teal pants and helmets the team will wear for home games, with matching jerseys, gloves and socks.
For away games, the Sharks will wear white jerseys, socks and helmets, along with teal pants and gloves. The Sharks have worn black helmets and pants with their teal jerseys since their first season as a franchise in 1991-1992.
The new look represents the first major change in the team’s uniforms since the start of the 2013-14 season and is the fifth different primary uniform the Sharks have worn in the 30-plus-year history of the franchise. The new jerseys were inspired by the originals the Sharks wore in the early 1990s, the team said in a news release.
The jerseys also incorporate an updated fin logo on the shoulders and utilize a new font for the numbering. With the exception of the stick in the crest, orange has been removed from the design, as have the neckline jersey ties.
“Our original jersey continues to be extremely popular with Sharks fans, in part because they were forward-thinking at the time,” said Doug Bentz, the Sharks’ chief marketing officer, in a statement.
“Like our beginnings, we must continue to evolve towards the future, especially as we enter a new era of Sharks hockey. Combining our fan’s love for the first jersey while at the same time being true to our innovative spirit, that was the inspiration for the new ‘Evolve’ uniform.”
Captain Logan Couture wore the home uniform and goalie James Reimer wore the away duds Wednesday night as they skated out onto the ice before roughly 1,000 fans.
Couture said he saw some Sharks players wearing the teal helmets for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
“I think (the look) has grown on me in the last two weeks,” Couture said. “I think (the helmet) looks really good. Everyone will get used to it.”
“It looks really sharp,” Reimer said. “I’ve worn a lot of jerseys and this is the best-looking one for sure.”
The jerseys went on sale Wednesday evening. Prices ranged from $180 for an authentic adult men’s jersey to $130 for a replica adult men’s jersey. Women’s jerseys were $120, and children’s jerseys ranged from $90 for youth replicas to $65 for infant replicas.
Images of the Sharks’ new uniforms were first leaked on Twitter on Sept. 3, and some fans have already been able to purchase them.
The home jerseys also have black and white stripes circling the elbow area on the sleeves, and around the waistline and socks. The white away jerseys feature teal and black stripes around the elbow area, the waistline, and the socks. The jerseys the Sharks have mainly used the last nine seasons did not have stripes around the waist.
The Sharks opened training camp Wednesday and have their first preseason game Sept. 25 at home against the Los Angeles Kings. Their first regular-season games are Oct. 7 and 8 against the Nashville Predators at O2 Arena in Prague.
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