Bruins Balanced Fun and Respect with Vintage Red Sox Outfits

Hanging around Fenway Park the week of the 2023 Winter Classic, I realized the small but vocal contingency of NHL fans who hate on outdoor games are completely missing the point.

This isn't supposed to be the most technically sound 60 minutes of hockey you've ever watched in your life. There might be some questionable officiating due to human error. And spoiler alert, it could even be a little bit chilly at an outdoor venue in January!

The 39,000-plus sea of black and yellow—Bruins and Penguins fans alike—in attendance Monday seemed pretty content with it all. They crossed hearing "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway off their bucket lists, laughed along to Bruins anthem singer Todd Angilly's hockey version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and got to soak in the nostalgic vibes the NHL nailed in curating.

It was impressive to see it all come together, from minute details like muted, old-school color schemes and fonts, to the big things like the ceremonial "first puck pitch" between Bobby Orr and Jason Varitek.

You have hundreds of other opportunities to watch high-quality hockey throughout the regular season. When else do you get to watch David Pastrnak look at a statue of himself made of pasta?

The Winter Classic rocks, and leaning into whatever fun opportunities life throws your way rocks even harder. The Bruins understood the assignment with their vintage Red Sox outfits.

Captain Patrice Bergeron said that the Bruins had planned this for a year since the announcement that the event would be at Fenway. The uniforms were custom-fitted to each player, with details down to stirrup socks for all.

"We started brainstorming, a few guys mentioned the baseball idea, [specifically the] old vintage early 1900s Red Sox outfit," Bergeron said. "We came up with the 1935 [version]. We're pretty happy with the result."

The mitts some players actually used in a warm-up game of catch were these Golden Era Gloves, sewn using true-to-time period circa 1937 characteristics.

These are the small gloves legends like Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig wore in their day and, in my opinion, added such a unique touch to complete the look.

"I joked that those were the jerseys they wore when [David] Krejci and [Patrice Bergeron] Bergy started playing," Bruins forward Nick Foligno said. "Listen, this is a storied building, and we wanted to make sure that as much fun as we were having, we also paid respect to the guys that have come before us in this place and made it what it is.

"It was really cool to put that on and experience what those guys went through walking through those halls. It was really fun, and to dress up like that made it even more enjoyable."

Goalie Linus Ullmark told us postgame that his baseball knowledge prior to the event was "zero," but he took great pride in his new role as catcher.

He put his feet up on the podium, revealing a pair of vintage cleats straight from the 1950s he was pumped to have found. He was also wearing an old-school catcher's helmet as he greeted the media.

"I thought it was a cool idea, and I like to dress up for these special occasions as well," said Ullmark, who regularly appears in Bleacher Report's NHL Style Rankings. "I was lucky enough to find a pair of cleats from the '50s. Watch out, they're probably dangerous. But it was a lot of fun when it came together, we had a vague idea of what it was going to be like, but yesterday when we actually got it in front of us, it was mind-blowing. I loved every second of it."

You could tell Bruins players were just as into the Winter Classic as the fans, and the genuine respect they had for the venue mixed with some ridiculous fun is what the Winter Classic is all about.

While I've enjoyed the more creative Winter Classic outfits teams have worn the past few years, I thought it was appropriate to keep it classy and pay homage to some Red Sox greats in one of the most iconic sports venues ever.

The Bruins get an A-plus and a style rankings stamp of approval for execution with their 2023 Winter Classic outfits.