There are a couple of new items on the Ottawa Senators' official web site regarding their new black third jersey. I posted a leaked picture of the new sweater last night.

The Senators have announced that the new alternate uniform will be unveiled to fans on Saturday at 3:04 PM when the Sens take to the ice against the New York Rangers. Hm, two jerseys with only text on the front.

An excerpt from the team's announcement outlines their third jersey past:

This is the club’s third alternate jersey. The first, which was primarily red, was introduced in November 1997 and then became the official away jersey for the 1999-2000 season. The second alternate jersey featured an updated version of the black road jersey and was first used during the 2000-01 season.

Sens alternate captain Chris Phillips had some interesting comments about the sweater.

"I think they look great," said alternate team captain Chris Phillips. "Simple – I love the black. I think they're doing a great job on them. Last year they sat the whole team down, had some different options to look at. They took input from the players and everyone around the organization from what they thought looked best, and this is what they came up with and they did a great job of it."

See? Not everybody hates black.

Along with the above news item, a feature was posted on the Senators' web site talking more about the jersey. The team's marketing VP had a little more to say about the decision to go back to black.

"We looked at a couple of different colours in terms of considering designs," said Jeff Kyle, the Senators' vice-president of marketing. "The feedback we received indicated black was the preferred choice, so we went in that direction." ...

New this time, though, are laces that tie together at the collar — a Senators first. It’s the ultimate in retro jersey styling.

"Doing that distinguishes it from the other jerseys that we’ve had in the past," said Kyle.

The Sens also confirm the jersey will be worn 15 times at home throughout the season, including the next four home games.

I'll be updating the sidebar calendar in the next day or so to reflect all the new third jersey schedules that have been released.