Following a couple months of rumors, the Washington Capitals unveiled a new alternate uniform this morning. The design is a spiritual successor to what the club used three years ago for the Stadium Series in Annapolis.

First, I think we need a quick look at the two uniforms side by side to compare.

The navy blue base and squared white shoulder yoke are carrying over, but the collar, crest and striping have received a makeover. And the changes are very well-executed.

On the chest, the new logo may look familiar to you. It was the secondary mark seen on the pants of the Stadium Series uniform.

The beautiful simplicity of that design is refreshing for a team that’s used a lot of wordmark crests throughout its history. The three red stars are borrowed from the flag of Washington, D.C. while the center of the “W” comes to a point evocative of the tip of the Washington Monument.

In revising the stripes, the Caps have diminished the large red blocks in favor of thinner red stripes outlined in white. The only problem with that is it comes off looking slightly similar to the Winter Classic jersey the New York Rangers wore in 2018.

If they’d taken the D.C. flag motif a step further and used two thick red stripes with a thin white one between, that may have made the sweater even better.

But that is a minor gripe. Overall, I love this uniform. I knew it had to be a matter of time before we got a blue jersey in regular rotation from the Capitals in this era. And this one feels like a winner to me.

When people talk about wanting a return to simple, traditional hockey sweater designs, this is that to a tee. I can almost picture it on the ice in the 1930s—if the Capitals had only existed back then.

One other element of note is the hanger effect. Inside the collar reads “ALL CAPS” with the Weagle secondary logo in the center.

The Capitals will wear this new third jersey at least seven times during the abbreviated 56-game schedule this season, beginning Tuesday night as they take on the New York Islanders.