The Penguins are doing it in powder blue, the Blackhawks recently threw back to black and heck, the Canadiens re-upped the barber stripes they had previously sported in their 1912-13 season.

Jason Arnott in the Preds former Third Jersey  NHL Third Jerseys for the 2008-09 Season

But after so much successful time spent in mustard, what does the future hold for the next Predators alternate jersey?

“I don’t want to give too much away but ours will be kind of a mix between a traditional and a retro look,” Predators President of Business Operations Ed Lang said. “I think people will really like this jersey. But they shouldn’t expect something wild like we had with our mustard jersey.”

The mustard jersey – both revered and reviled by fans around the league for its eye-catching design – hasn’t been seen since before the 2007-08 season, when the league-instated RBK Edge jerseys were implemented. In the five years the mustard jersey was in use, the Predators put up 38-19-12 record while donning the brightly-colored sweaters – including a blistering 21-3-2 mark in the last two seasons of its existence.

This new third jersey will certainly have big sleeves to fill.

The process for development started this past fall, when members of the Predators art department created dozens of different ideas – ranging in color, font, text and logo variations. Owner David Freeman was heavily involved with the design process, letting the team know just what direction he wanted the look and feel of the jersey to be headed.

After narrowing down the jerseys to three or four finalists, the Predators then took their ideas to Reebok, who put their own spin on the designs based on practicality and on-ice aesthetics. Several months of back-and-forth communication later and two mock ups were submitted to the league and Reebok as final designs.

“Now what they will do is make up some jerseys with that design,” Lang said. “Once they do that, they begin on-ice tests and have guys actually go out on the ice and skate with the jerseys on so they can see how it looks from a broadcasting standpoint and a fan standpoint. That process will start to happen over the next several months.

“Once we make the tweaks and get everything how we want it, then the third jersey will probably be launched sometime in late fall.”

For the last two years, the Predators declined to create another third jersey, even while many of their peers couldn’t jump on the wagon fast enough. Because the jersey styles changed just two seasons ago, the consensus within the Predators organization was to let the new RBK Edge designs settle in before stirring up the pot again.

But now the Predators are ready to step out in style with the new jersey expected before Christmas time.

With a classic-meets-retro feel, fans are sure to be impressed with the hard work that has been done and the measures that have been taken to ensure the success of the Predators next alternate jersey. While it may not have the chutzpah of the previous incarnation, this new jersey is sure to find ways to excite and delight all on its own.