With the Detroit Red Wings set to face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium in just over six weeks, the NHL unveiled the jerseys that the two teams will wear for the Stadium Series matchup.
NHL, Fanatics debut uniforms for 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL #StadiumSeries between @BlueJacketsNHL and @DetroitRedWings.
Read more: https://t.co/dETMvWpi1h pic.twitter.com/Hr6JEJZiGU
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 16, 2025
The Red Wings’ jersey design is inspired by classic cars, featuring a new “Detroit” wordmark across the front and embellishments on the numbers meant to evoke the feeling of leather seats.
The Red Wings’ uniform for the 2025 Stadium Series game. (Credit: Fanatics, NHL)
I don’t get the classic car vibe at all from this, though I can see it when I read the marking speak about it. My take is that, aside from the oversized numbers that are a trademark of the Stadium Series, this is is (mostly) a very traditional sweater. It looks more collegiate-inspired to me, with the wordmark reminiscent of that on the jerseys of Michigan, Michigan State, or Michigan Tech.
The perforations on the jersey numbers seem similar to what teams like the Edmonton Oilers do on their standard jerseys, so the explanation that they’re inspired by leather seats doesn’t really land for me.
The back of the Red Wings’ uniform for the 2025 Stadium Series game. (Credit: Fanatics, NHL)
The biggest knock I have against it is the contrasting-color nameplate on the back. I dislike contrasting nameplates in general and I also think nameplates with vertically-arched lettering like Detroit uses look wrong, so combining them really bothers me.
The helmets – with a racing stripe up the middle and oversized wings on the sides – are gaudy but are exactly what I expected them to be. Once again, I don’t see the auto-inspired elements so much there. I thought the helmet design was meant to look like a football helmet with the game played at Ohio Stadium.
Every time the Red Wings release some new design, I complain about it. I get that I don’t share the same design aesthetic as the organization does and I’m okay with that. So this design, overall, has me pleasantly surprised.
My ranking of Detroit’s jerseys for outdoor games is now as follows:
- 2009 Winter Classic – Chicago
- 2025 Stadium Series – Columbus
- 2014 Winter Classic – Ann Arbor
- 2016 Stadium Series – Denver
- Centennial Classic – Toronto
Yes, I’m well aware that I don’t share the love of the 2014 Winter Classic jerseys that so many have.
