SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks on Thursday night unveiled the new third jersey they’ll wear at home for most of the remainder of this season, one with black as the base color and the team’s “Evolve Fin” logo as the primary crest instead of the traditional shark biting through a hockey stick.
The new look, dubbed the “Cali Fin” uniform, will debut on Feb. 17 when the Sharks host the Columbus Blue Jackets and will be worn by the Sharks at all home games in February and March.
At an event for certain season ticket holders at SAP Center, Sharks players Logan Couture, Kaapo Kahkonen and Nico Sturm debuted the uniforms as they skated onto the ice. The event also featured team president Jonathan Becher, general manager Mike Grier, and director of player development Todd Marchant taking questions from fans.
Per the Sharks, the uniforms include a symbol of Hispanic heritage and influence in the region with yarn-dyed textiles. The Sharks said the “unique technique and striping patterns used to produce serapes and other items has a long history and still has a place in California apparel and surf culture.
“As a nod to this influence in the community, the team incorporated a teal yarn-dye-esque pattern on the sleeves and at the bottom of the jersey.”
The jerseys also include Northern California Shark-fin shoulder patches, revised from the 2015 Stadium Series patch.
The Sharks on Wednesday rolled out a video on social media featuring former team forward Raffi Torres driving a classic, teal-colored car in downtown San Jose. Torres spent three-plus seasons in the Sharks organization from 2013 to 2016 but thanks to a mixture of injuries and suspensions, only played a combined 28 regular season and playoff games.
Still, the Sharks wanted to include Torres, as he is one of the few NHL players with Hispanic roots who also played in San Jose.
“For third jerseys, our approach is to introduce new designs or elements that may be more unconventional to balance the more traditional primary home and away jersey,” said Doug Bentz, the Sharks’ chief marketing officer, in a statement.
“With the Cali Fin uniforms, we had two primary design goals to achieve. First, we wanted the uniform to be consistent with our organizational goals, our brand, and recent uniforms by looking forward to the future of the organization while simultaneously honoring our past.
