Canadiens Jeered Over Third Jersey

First, the Montreal Canadiens moved from the beloved Forum. Now tradition is taking another beating: The famed red, white and blue jerseys might be on the way out.

It’s still at least two years away, but the Canadiens are getting a “third” jersey, likely a variation on the famous CH design that French-speaking fans sometimes call the Sainte Flanelle, or sacred cloth.

After the news broke Monday, a frantic Bernard Brisset, the team’s vice president, was calming appalled callers, insisting that “yes, there will, one day, be a third jersey, but there will be no change to our official jersey.”

Eight NHL clubs already have “third” jerseys, including the popular New York Rangers’ Statue of Liberty sweaters introduced this year.

Four more teams will have alternate jerseys next season under a league program to stimulate merchandise sales.

Teams wear “third” jerseys a few times per season, keeping their regular home whites and away darks for 90% of their games.

The Montreal Gazette called the plan CHeesy and CHeerless. Columnist Peggy Curran urged Canadiens president Ronald Corey to “just say no. It was bad enough when the fans got bamboozled into abandoning the beloved, grotty Forum for the antiseptic, soulless Molson Centre.”