A Blast from The Past, the Calgary Flames New Third Jersey

"All of the fans, they say 'What are you doing? Couldn't you just once think about bringing back that great and that venerable jersey?' Of course we not only thought about it, that's what we're going to do," Flames President and CEO Ken King said.

When the regular season kicks off for the Calgary Flames on October 1, 2009, it will kick off the 30th season for the franchise in Calgary.  I, for one, still have an original jersey in my closest with the number 14 on the back with the name Nilsson across the shoulders.  Considering I was five years old when then Flames' owner Tom Cousins sold the franchise to Nelson Skalbania and was then moved to Calgary, that jersey no longer fits.

At a press conference today at the Saddledome, King unveiled the team's new third jersey to celebrate the 30th Anniversary in Calgary.

"We think it's important to honour our history, and we think it's as important to focus going forward," said King.

The jersey's were modeled for pictures by Craig Conroy and former captain Jim Peplinski, who wore the original jersey for nine seasons back in the 80's.  I'd say he was wearing the jersey the night the Flames won the Cup but Peplinski was actually wearing long underwear when he hoisted the Stanley Cup above his head.

It has been announced that the jersey will be worn five times at home, during the upcoming season.  All the games will be against other Canadian franchises and the first time they will be on the ice will be October 1 against the Vancouver Canucks. 

The other four games are as follows;

October 6th against the Montreal Canadiens

January 2nd against the Toronto Maple Leafs

January 30th against the Edmonton Oilers

March 11th against the Ottawa Senators

"I feel good about our organization, about our team," Flames' owner Harley Hotchkiss said. "We're in a highly competitive league as you all know, but I think we've got a well-rounded team and that we'll make a good account of ourselves this year."

I for one think it is about time this jersey came back and couldn't be happier to see the Flames' open the season, wearing the blast from the past.