The AHL's Manchester Monarchs lost a piece of their identity Wednesday. They scrapped the purple and gold from their color scheme and unveiled new home and road jerseys identical to those of their NHL affiliate, the Los Angeles Kings.

Perhaps they're just trying to capitalize on the Kings' recent Stanley Cup championships, but this is nevertheless a depressing development for a club that once had a truly unique look.

“These jerseys tie us to our parent club, the Kings,” said [Monarchs president Darren] Abbott. “The Monarchs have so many players that have gone on to play for the Kings and have helped them win Stanley Cup championships in Los Angeles that we wanted to bring their identity into our uniforms.”

I'm of the opinion players shouldn't be wearing NHL jerseys until they make the NHL, but obviously Abbott disagrees.