Pens at Winter Classic Revisited

A little web surfing has turned up more evidence that we're on the right track for the design of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2011 Winter Classic jersey.

After yesterday's leak of the Anaheim Ducks' new third jersey, I thought I'd peruse a few other online retailers. A few readers also had the same idea. Interestingly, the site that yielded the best information was the NHL's own shop.nhl.com.

Penguins knit hat / shop.nhl.comAmong other things, the search turned up this knit hat (right), which is dark blue and features the powder blue/vintage white stripes, a look that evokes the team's original 1967 uniforms.

In case you didn't believe me before, what more proof could you want outside of seeing the actual jersey. This certainly seems to be the creative direction the Penguins are taking for this Winter Classic.

But wait, there's more. However, this next item is no longer appearing on the website (that I could find, at least). Luckily I nabbed the image yesterday before it disappeared — though it'll likely be back online before long.

Penguins t-shirt / shop.nhl.comThis t-shirt (left) perhaps provides a little more proof that the rounded numbers from that original jersey are to be used on the new dark blue sweater.

It's a dead ringer for the rendering posted here on the blog a couple weeks ago. Colors and everything. Even the captain's C is set in the same Helvetica-like type as the numbers. Those original jerseys never had nameplates so it seems Pittsburgh will carry the style over from their current uniforms.

I hope this is the final blog post on this subject before the official unveiling — which is apparently happening before the end of the month. They have 11 days.

So what's your take? Is the dark blue a good direction for an alternate Penguins uniform? Should Mario and Co. have gone back to the black and gold days of the '80s and '90s?