Lightning return to black with new third jersey reveal
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The Tampa Bay Lightning officially revealed their new third jersey today, and the theme song was "Back in Black" — literally.
Fans have been itching to have black back in the team's palette and the team has listened. The color was initially lost in the 2011 rebrand — despite the fact that the Lightning were the NHL's first and only black and blue team from the beginning.
But now a wrong is being righted to an extent.
The new sweater is almost completely black. It deviates only with minimal white trim and a blue collar and shoulder patches. The BOLTS crest, however, is the one element carried over from the previous third.
If you're wondering how I feel about the jersey as a longtime Lightning fan, it's late at night and I need time to collect my thoughts. I'm going to go into more depth in a separate blog post which will include my interview with Lightning president Steve Griggs.
For now I'll admit that on first glance, my reaction wasn't too far from many of the comments I read on Twitter and Instagram throughout the day. I was underwhelmed and somewhat disappointed.
That isn't to say this is a bad jersey. But we all have our expectations and they can't all be met.
Meantime, flip through the photos and feel free to share your take below. I'd love to get a better sense of what you guys think.