It seems as though there have been many, many different posts and speculation on the name of the NHL franchise in Winnipeg. Thanks to draft day last Friday, fans around the globe can now rejoice at the fact the team will be known as the Winnipeg Jets. We can already hear you screaming “GO JETS GO” and we get it. We’ll be there too.

True North Sports and Entertainment (TNSE), or more specifically Mark Chipman, had stated from the beginning they were going to take some time to get it right. In fact, they had wanted a new name to start with a new brand and develop. Some argue this would have been a good thing and some say it would have been a bad thing. That argument is really a moot point now, so we’ll leave it alone.

What’s really up for debate now is what the new Winnipeg Jets jerseys will look like for the 2011-12 season. There’s no doubt the revenue generated by merchandise sales will help the bottom line immensely and with any brand, doing it right (or as close to right) the first time around, the better. The Jets of yesteryear were red, white & blue. While we know that the color white will be predominant, the other colors remain the question marks.

Red makes sense, as it’s part of Canadian heritage and a red home jersey would look pretty cool (as we’ve seen many times in Calgary, Ottawa and other cities). Of course, it depends on the shade of red as well.

Blue helps tie back in the nostalgia that all the Jets fans are yearning for. So how do you refresh it? One speculation is the inclusion of the color gold in the mix. It adds another color to the palette and has some area history.

Look at Winnipeg’s other professional sports teams there’s the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team that has the word ‘gold’ in the team name. The goldeye is a fish that’s predominant in the area and the name of the baseball team that played in Winnipeg from 1954-64.

The CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers football team colors are blue & gold. In fact they’re often referred to as the “blue and gold” by fans and sports announcers. Then there was the Manitoba Moose. While they didn’t have gold in their palette, they did have bronze, which is a close color to gold when printed on memorabilia. And of course who can forget the 17 foot tall Golden Boy that stands proudly atop the Manitoba Legislature on the outskirts of downtown Winnipeg?

It’s with these strong references that we feel the rumors around adding gold to the palette of the new Winnipeg Jets logo and jerseys will work. We also think there will be some tweaks to the tones of the red and blue. What do you think?

Marshall Stevenson

Marshall Stevenson regularly contributes to one of the best Winnipeg Jets blogs as an editor and co-founder while also working on JET FUEL – a documentary about Winnipeg Jets fans. Of course he’s also behind the only official, unofficial Jets fan gear site. And as if he wasn’t busy enough, a co-host on the popular Winnipeg Jets focused Jets Hockey Podcast.