While I am 100 percent a New Jersey Devils fan, I’m not someone you’d call a die-hard “hockey fan.” I fell into my love of the New Jersey Devils the same way I fell into loving any sports team growing up: They were the team near me. [Ed note: “Near” is the Philly-Jersey-New York area. I live in Central Jersey, right outside of the capital, if we’re really keeping score.] To be honest, my earliest memory of the Devils was admiring the horns on the NJ in their logo as an elementary school student; I didn’t know who played on the team until I started playing NHL ‘95 on the Genesis. As I got older, the idea of rocking a hockey jersey as a regular piece in my wardrobe was always appealing, given what guys like Snoop Dogg were rocking on Arsenio Hall, but I didn’t actually come to owning a Devils hockey jersey until a few years back. I sniped a red home jersey on eBay (I’m too quick to dirty white road jerseys), and during the quarantine, I dove headfirst into the vintage market, grabbing throwback hats and random pieces of nostalgia from sports teams in my era, primarily from the Devils. Why? Jersey pride, plain and simple. I could rock some dope colorways from other teams in the NHL (and I do, at times), but as I get older and realize what I’m about, rocking a Devils jersey just says it all, regardless of the box score. That same pride is what made me fall in love with the New Jersey Devils’ first third jersey, which was designed in part by Devils legend Martin Brodeur, considered by many to be one of the greatest goalies in NHL history. Brodeur tells Complex that this third jersey was one of the Executive VP of Business Development’s first jobs in his new role.
“I got back in with the Devils organization in late 2018,” Brodeur explains. “I only played hockey; I’ve never really understood or thought about the business of [hockey]. They kind of put a project on my desk, saying, ‘Listen, we’re really looking into creating a third jersey for the franchise. Would you like to be part of it?’ I was like, ‘Wow, this is kind of a big undertaking.’ I wasn’t sure exactly how much I was going to be able to help. Obviously, with Jillian [Frechette, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the New Jersey Devils] and the group that we have, we kind of went in there, started the process of it. It took a while, like two and a half years, three years or so. And it makes you understand how hard it is to get stuff done.”
Dan Near, Senior Director of adidas Hockey, echoes that sentiment. “This process provided a rare opportunity for adidas to work with one of the top athletes of all-time at his position in Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur to create a jersey design that is authentic to the fans, current and former players and the Garden State. From the 21 stripes representing each county in the state to the collar featuring the championship years, Martin and our team strategically designed this jersey with every New Jersey player, fan and city in mind.” There’s also even more history in this jersey, from the design emulating the Newark Bulldogs’ jersey from their 1928-29 season, to the stripes on the shoulders representing five Devils whose numbers are hanging in the rafters, including Brodeur.
The “JERSEY” jersey, like all of the authentic adidas NHL jersey worn by fans and played in on ice, is made with their Primegreen tech, which is made with around 50 percent recycled material. For a jersey that’s so representative of the Garden State, I actually appreciate that adidas is doing their part to give back. Overall, it’s a strong statement from the Devils organization. This is their official third jersey; Brodeur made it clear during our conversation. “It’s a three-year project, so we’re going to wear that jersey for the next three years, 13 times this year.” There were many stories the Devils could’ve told with their choice, so this “JERSEY” jersey is a specific choice to tell a specific tale, one full of the pride of the Devils organization, as well as the history of hockey in the region, alongside the pride folks from Jersey have in their state. “It’s all in the details,” Brodeur shares. “When you really nitpick of some of the details we have in our jersey, that’s what makes the story.”
“My rookie year was in ‘93, ‘94,” Brodeur says. “I got drafted in 1990. I’ve been in the organization for over 30 years. I kind of grew up a little bit as a man in New Jersey. I had my five kids born in New Jersey. So we’re Jersey guys. We’re Jersey people.”
Brodeur says that while he knows that “the people that have been in the parking lot in ‘95 celebrating the Stanley Cup, these guys might take a little longer to like it,” they are excited about the new jersey, because they are “doing that for the base, for the fans, for our players, and to recognize the history of New Jersey.”
With the New Jersey Devils’ new third jersey debuting on Dec. 8 (Brodeur says he will be in the building for the debut), the Devils and adidas also linked with Dirty Soles Footwear Group, a Newark-based, Black-owned custom sneaker shop that took a pair of adidas Metro Attitudes and transformed them into the perfect match for the “JERSEY” jersey, complete with New Jersey state accents in red along with “Made in Jersey” and the Devils logo on the tongues. The customs will be auctioned off starting Dec. 8, with proceeds going to the Devils Youth Foundation. Check out more images of those custom Devils sneakers, as well as the Devils third jersey, below. You can grab the Devils third jersey via adidas or the NHL.
