Buffalo News, April 11th 1996

Out with the old, in with the new.

The Buffalo Sabres unveiled their new uniforms during an open practice in Memorial Auditorium this afternoon. The new gear will be used by the team starting in the 1996-97 season, when it moves into the new Marine Midland Arena.

"We said we wanted to be bigger, younger, stronger, confident, and that's what went into the logo," said Doug Moss, the Sabres' president and chief executive officer. "I think it sets a tone for what the image of this team is and what the attitude is.

"If you're ever going to change (the uniform), this is the right time. You're rebuilding the team into something else, you're changing the image of the team. . . . You're going into a new building and a whole new era."

The team has worn the same style of uniform for the first 26 years of its existence. Punch Imlach, the Sabres' first general manager, approved a uniform design that resembled the Toronto Maple Leafs' apparel from the 1960s.

Today's debut marks the end of a process that took about 16 months. Moss found that the organization was discussing a change in the team's uniforms when he was hired in December of 1994.

"I saw that there was a process that had already begun, and then halted," he said. "When I looked at some of the drawings, I really wasn't surprised because it seemed to take the old logo and just move it upside-down or something with new colors added. It really was the old uniform just kind of reassembled. We just started over with a fresh thought pattern."

Moss asked some companies for ideas on a completely new look for the team. One of them was Jager, DiPaola, Kemp of Vermont.

"They came in and really knocked us out with the research they had done and the time they had spent talking to people in town and researching sports teams in Buffalo," he said. "They came up with two or three different concepts, and the one we picked is the one that we thought was right on the mark."

The firm believed that a buffalo would be the best visual image for the team, and placed it on the front of the uniform. Moss and other members of the Sabres' organization tinkered with the original design. Then they moved on to the color scheme, which had been blue and gold for 26 years. Now it's black, red and silver.

"We wanted to be navy blue and red, but we wanted a deep, dark navy," Moss said. "The problem was that in looking at the last 25 years, sometimes it came out royal blue, sometimes it was navy blue. . . . There were many variations, and that is unacceptable now."

Thus, since different shades of blue had been used in different seasons and there was no traditional "Sabre blue," the team decided to consider another color, such as black.

Moss was not sure how the team's ownership would react to such a major change, but that wasn't a problem.

"At a certain point in the process we brought in Seymour and Norty (Knox) and Bob Swados," he said. "They could not have been more supportive, even though they founded the team. (The old uniforms) had their colors, their logo."

The hockey, communications and marketing departments of the team also added their input on the project. Once everything was set, the final decision centered on the debut of the new look. Moss thought about showing the new uniforms right after the end of the last home game on Sunday, but decided against it.

"I want to be respectful to the Aud and the old uniform," he said. "Other than at the merchandise stands, you won't see any reference to the Marine Midland Arena or the new logo (on Sunday night). That is going to be a nostalgic night."

While some National Hockey League teams have used a third uniform at games this season, Moss said the Sabres have no plans to do that in the near future. The team will spend its marketing efforts to promote this new look, which is projected to move the team from 22nd in the league in merchandise sales to sixth.

Moss is confident that the new uniforms will be a hit, even though he realizes he will hear from some people who object to the break from tradition.

"I got a letter from a woman who said, 'Why are you doing this? I invested all my money in blue and gold stuff,' " Moss said. "All I can say is, we didn't do it to hurt that woman. Things change. Logos change. If you don't change, you don't grow."