Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The National Hockey League may create its first policy on uniforms enforced by fines to make sure players don't alter the new streamlined gear designed by Adidas AG's Reebok International Ltd.

The league is ``looking at rules and regulations,'' including fines to ensure players don't change the uniforms, which will be worn during the All-Star Game on Jan. 24 and used by all teams next season, Brian Jennings, the NHL's vice president of consumer products marketing, said in an interview.

The new gear, which the league and Reebok say is lighter, more aerodynamic and more protective, is being introduced as players are altering their current uniforms to make them more loose-fitting. The league probably won't allow that with the new Reebok uniforms, Jennings said.

``We recognize, and our general managers recognize, that aesthetically it's not good,'' Jennings said in an interview. ``It takes away and diminishes the look on the ice and more importantly, leaves our players vulnerable to injuries.''

The National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association all have regulations governing everything from the length of a basketball player's shorts to the bagginess of a baseball player's pants to the height of a football player's socks. The NHL has no formal policy, league spokesman Frank Brown said.

Players as Tailors

Hockey players, seeking more room in their heavily padded, knee-length pants, often sew mesh inserts into them to allow more range of movement. Others players simply cut the inseam, leaving their pants looking baggy, damaged and oversized. Jennings said the stretchy fabrics in the new uniforms will eliminate the need for such crude alterations.

``It's more of a streamlined look,'' Jennings said. ``It's more anatomically fitting on the players.''

The NHL Players' Association, which worked with the league and Reebok designing and testing the new look, said it would fight any fines or sanctions the league tries to impose on players.

``Any rules that impact players' working conditions, such as their longstanding right to customize their equipment, would require our approval,'' former NHL right wing Mike Gartner, now the union's director of hockey affairs, said in a statement. ``We have heard nothing of this and would certainly object to any rule along those lines.''

Tests at MIT

Reebok, which bought Montreal-based Hockey Co., in April 2004 for about $204 million, tested the new uniforms in wind tunnels at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The form- fitting jerseys are made of fabrics that retain 76 percent less moisture and produce 9 percent less drag, thus creating lighter, faster players, said Matt O'Toole, president and chief executive officer of Reebok-CCM Hockey.

``Players are able to be faster and skate longer and more effectively on the ice,'' O'Toole said in an interview.

Similar streamlined uniforms developed by Nike Inc. and worn during the 2006 Winter Olympics were panned by players, who didn't like their tight fit. The new Reebok uniforms, which will be worn by all 30 NHL teams beginning next season, are not as form-fitting as many players originally feared.

``It's definitely not Spiderman,'' Jennings said.

Over the past several months, players have practiced in the new uniforms. While many said they like the look and appreciated the lightweight fabric, not everybody was impressed.

``The socks are awful,'' said Thrashers right wing Marian Hossa, who's tied for second in the NHL with 29 goals. ``They were way too tight. The look was so skinny. I didn't like it at all.''

Final Alterations

Jennings and O'Toole said player feedback, like Hossa's comments, are being considered as Reebok works to develop its final design and sizing before next season.

Reebok, which has several endorsement agreements with players including Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, who leads the NHL with 69 points, originally considered creating a uniform with the jersey tucked into the pants. Players balked and Reebok determined that a tucked-in jersey retained too much body heat.

Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's career leading scorer, said his players ``genuinely like the look and feel'' of the uniforms. He didn't understand how a uniform could make players quicker, though.

``If everybody is wearing the same equipment, I don't know how anybody is going to be faster than the other guy,'' Gretzky said in an interview. ``But if they think they look better, then good for the NHL.''

The last major NHL uniform change came in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, when the Philadelphia Flyers and Hartford Whalers ditched their traditional knee-length hockey pants and above-the-knee hockey socks and wore long pants. The NHL eventually banned them.

Former Flyer Brad McCrimmon, who wore the long pants and didn't like them, said he was dubious of the league's claim that players will appear more athletic in the new equipment.

``Sidney Crosby would look pretty athletic if you put him in a tutu,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 19, 2007 14:38 EST