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Best sweaters in the NHL?

Photo

I thought this would be a fun little bit for the summer. I've always been a big fan of the aesthetic aspect of sports and it's interesting to watch how often some teams change their uniforms while others remain steadfast in the originals. Sometimes it's fun to watch a crowd and see the

So here's the prompt, other than the Red Wings and Blackhawks (the two best uniforms in all of sports in my opinion), what are your top 10 sweaters from around the NHL? You can select the same team more than once (i.e.: home, away, third, etc.) if you want but try to refrain from the retro jerseys unless that team currently wears them on a consistent basis. Comment away below with your list and include pictures/links if you want.

1. Minnesota Wild script "Minnesota" third jersey: As you can guess by the photo heading the post, this one is my favorite outside of the Red Wings and Blackhawks unis. The script is almost perfect in terms of not being too minimal or not too extravagant and the green and...wheat?...are an excellent combination. Very slick in my book.

2. Vancouver Canucks home blue jersey
: this jersey does an excellent job of blending the modern with the old as the original blue and green are implemented into the design with the C-shaped whale breaking out of the ice. The arched "Vancouver" is a nice touch too. As long as they don't come near the atrocious gradient jersey of the early 2000s.

3. Montreal Canadiens home red jersey:
a long time classic, the jersey has remained virtually unchanged since the team's beginning in the early 1900s. The C&H logo within the stripe is iconic and some of the best players to ever play the game have donned the red Canadiens jersey.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs home blue jersey
: like their Canadian rivals, the Leafs haven't changed their design since the late 1920s. The solid blue looks pretty smooth while the leaf that represents Canada takes center stage.

5. Dallas Stars home black jersey:
Some people aren't fans of the NBA-esque number on the front of the jersey but I think the centering on this one makes it work better than those of San Jose or Tampa Bay. It's a unique look while remaining pretty simple and clean.

Star-divide

6. Boston Bruins home black alternate jersey: one of the better alternate jerseys is found in Boston. It's clean and simple while maintaining the team's original colors and showing more of the "mascot" aspect. And it's much better than this version.

7. Philadelphia Flyers throwback orange jersey
: It may look a bit like Halloween but it's still a pretty nice jersey. The white name plate on the back is a neat feature in addition to the solid orange jersey.

8. Minnesota Wild
red home jersey: keeping with the "looking a bit like a holiday" theme, the Wild's home reds have evolved nicely from the third jersey to the team's primary home jersey. The circular crest with the head is nicely done and a few other jerseys have adopted that style (St. Louis, Florida). The jersey overall looks clean and classic, after shedding the tattered numbering of the original white and green home jerseys.

9. Buffalo Sabres blue alternate home jersey:
This is a throwback to the pre-Buffaslug logo but updates the originally bright blue with a darker navy blue. These are actually going to be the home jerseys for Buffalo next year and the league rejoices.

10. New York Rangers blue home jersey:
the jersey spawned the nickname for the team as "the blueshirts" because of the longstanding (1926) usage of the blue sweater with "Rangers" scrawled diagonally across the sweater.

So there you go. Take a crack at it

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NHL Jerseys: My Top Ten

Aug 2009 from Blueshirt Banter - 7 comments

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I prefer the regular black of the Bruins. To me, the alternate’s logo reminds me of… those signs on jerkey bags.

by Gander on Jul 16, 2010 10:59 AM CDT reply actions  

As much as it pains me to say this, my favorite jersey is the one the Hawks wore in the Winter Classic. I believe it is their third jersey now. The retro-ness, the colors, the style, the logo, everything about it is awesome. Can’t say I like their standard jerseys (at all, really), but this one is damn near perfect.

http://www.easycart.net/TripleThreatSportsInc./images/WC_lg.jpg

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Jul 16, 2010 11:07 AM CDT reply actions  

Taste varies. I don’t like the Hawks WC jersey because the beige looks really murky. I love the Red Wings WC jersey, just not the red and white stripe socks that look dorky.

by Gander on Jul 16, 2010 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions  

Many of the commenters at SCH actually don't like the current 3rd jersey

because it’s difficult to read the numbers, especially on TV or web feeds, due to the “murkiness.”
I like the current 3rds because I like throwback unis in general, but I preferred our previous all black alts.

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet Home Chicago!

by ChicagoNativeSon on Jul 16, 2010 11:46 PM CDT up reply actions  

Off-topic CNS

I lurk at SCH alot and I gotta say your cheesesteak post was frickin hilarious! I was bouncing back and forth between SCH and BSH for 2 days while the cheesesteak war was going on. Thanks for helping my crappy week go a bit quicker with a ton of laughs.

In life, a man is either the hammer or the anvil. Ndamukong Suh is both
Pride of Detroits village idiot

by JazzyBBP on Jul 17, 2010 9:00 AM CDT up reply actions  

Haha! Thanks!

There’s one guy over at BSH who is literally STILL freaking out over it. Geez, you’d think they lost the Cup to us recently or something…

(shameless self-promotion alert) Check out SCH today. McClure moved a photoshop that I did of Huet to the front page. Any Wings fan will definitely enjoy a bit of schadenfreude from it.

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet Home Chicago!

by ChicagoNativeSon on Jul 17, 2010 10:05 AM CDT up reply actions  

I love the other two Chicago jerseys though

Especially the red. I love red with a little black mixed in. CHI-DET is very pleasing to the eyes. I just HATE beige. Which is why I hate the Pittsburgh jerseys. Oh yeah, they’re supposed to be gold- well, it doesn’t look it!

by Gander on Jul 18, 2010 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions  

indeed

that is a great jersey in my opinion, i just group all of the Wings/Hawks jerseys into the “yeah, we know” category haha.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions  

Close

The WC and the 3rd Jersey are almost identical. They do have some differences, the 3rd jersey has additional patches the WC did not.

by pnote on Jul 16, 2010 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions  

For me it’s a tie between Anaheim’s old Wild Wing jersey and Vancouver’s old black, gold, and orange jersey’s with the "V"s on them. I kid… let’s see… I am a fan of the Leaf’s home jersey, and while Dallas’ uniforms aren’t bad, I preferred the sweaters they had when they won the cup. Also a fan of the Habs, Flyers, Sharks, and Pens (in no particular order)

by mikerlz on Jul 16, 2010 11:48 AM CDT reply actions  

The Penguins whites look pretty nice, especially when Fleury wears the white leg pads.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions  

I think he wears those white pads with both home and road, but I agree with you there… always thought that looked really nice

by mikerlz on Jul 16, 2010 3:48 PM CDT up reply actions  

he does

haha, yeah i guess that was an unnecessary stipulation. but you get what i was shooting for.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 3:51 PM CDT up reply actions  

Love our WC ones,not so much the socks

Agree with earlier post on how dorky the socks looked for us in the WC game. A few alternates I miss are the Bruins yellow ones with the Bear Head,and NY’s Liberty third jerseys. The New Canes 3rds are also pretty nice…wish we could see Buffalo’s late 90’s,early 2000’s jersey with the retro colors cuz I did kinda like the large Buffalo head and it beats the hell out of those buffaslug things they brought out a few years ago

by Jimbo5203 on Jul 16, 2010 12:03 PM CDT reply actions  

Minny's Reds

I love the circular logo. It hearkens back to the days when pro hockey teams were literally like “The Men’s Upper-St. Paul Hockey Players Association” and made classic crests for that.

Plus, the brickish red with the green, and the fact that this jersey brought back laced necks, I think that’s probably the best young jersey out there.

The Red Wings’ whites are still the best sweaters in the league (in the ESPN best-dressed team thing in early 2000s, the Wings would have faced the Wolverines for the title had they too not been knocked off by vote fraud from Denver).

L'Équipe! L'Équipe! L'Équipe!

by Misopogon on Jul 16, 2010 12:19 PM CDT reply actions  

Well according to IceTheTics,

Colorado’s logo is close to the perfect logo; it’s impossible to improve upon. Every time somebody posts an Avs concept it gets blasted because it’s nowhere close to the original. But there’s some pretty cool stuff for the Wings:
Alt. Logo Concepts:

Primary Jersey Concepts:

3rd Jersey Concept:

Sorry for going overboard. I like following the jersey stuff, too. Check out and poke around the concept section if you want something to do for a while.

by JackAvsFan on Jul 16, 2010 12:27 PM CDT reply actions  

Wow,

what the hell happened to my links? OK, so they’re not gonna be clicky. It’s copy and paste for you guys because your linker is broken.

3rd Jersey Concept:
http://www.icethetics.info/storage/thumbnails/2879378-4206636-thumbnail.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1256532184165

Primary Jersey Concepts:
http://www.icethetics.info/storage/thumbnails/2879378-4933411-thumbnail.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1259693912518

I can’t find the alt logo concepts anymore. Too bad.

by JackAvsFan on Jul 16, 2010 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions  

Well look at that

That came out clicky after all.

by JackAvsFan on Jul 16, 2010 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions  

links didn't work

but yeah, just copy and paste auto links it usually.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions  

here you go

Third jersey concept here

Primary concepts here

"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
Science nerd and proud of it!

by Baroque on Jul 17, 2010 4:45 AM CDT up reply actions  

Minny green!

By far my favorite jersey out of any the Wild have donned throughtout the years!

JS, Champion of the first ever Hockey Wilderness Playoff Bracket Challenge! WHOOOOOOOO!

twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Jul 16, 2010 12:33 PM CDT reply actions  

I mean the one on the photo at the beginning of the thread, hahaha

JS, Champion of the first ever Hockey Wilderness Playoff Bracket Challenge! WHOOOOOOOO!

twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Jul 16, 2010 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions  

The Islanders home jersey is kind of cool as well.

What about least favorites? The Ducks black one has got to be up there, right?

by Ian Merrifield on Jul 16, 2010 12:40 PM CDT reply actions  

Caps away whites.

You had me at no problem.

by Ninjak on Jul 16, 2010 1:52 PM CDT reply actions  

Capitals home red jerseys didnt crack the top 10? I can’t help but disagree.

by bigatrop on Jul 16, 2010 2:04 PM CDT reply actions  

to each his own

I’m just not a fan of the oversized logo. I mean that thing goes from nip to nip.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 2:12 PM CDT up reply actions  

You sir, do not have an objective opinion

As a Michigan native and long-time Redwings fan, even I can admit that the Caps are at least the 2nd best, if not the best jersey in the league. If the great color scheme and paying homage to the original 70’s sweaters wasn’t enough, even the Capitals Weagle logo was independently voted #1 overall by a pole of over 2,000 hockey fans on Icethetics.

I think you should take another look and reconsider your posting. To have two Wild jerseys and not a one Caps jersey is ridiculous.

"Baseball was my first love... hockey is a sultry temptress and stole my heart." - Corey Masisak

by Scoops on Jul 16, 2010 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions  

I know what the jersey looks like and I haven’t sad that it’s horrible by any means. In fact, I like it a great deal but the list is just my opinion for ones above it. If the Minnesota jersey had a different logo, no body would be bitching and moaning about it but because its the same team it gets crap? They’re both excellent jerseys.

Also, I don’t need to have an objective opinion, this is a blog. Not CNN.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 5:45 PM CDT up reply actions  

I don't know

Although I like the current Caps unis and appreciate that they went back to something closer to their original logo, it seems like a rip-off of the last Winnipeg Jets logo. Same colors, similar font style and the hockey stick is an almost exact replica. It would be difficult for me personally to put it on a top 10 list because of the lack of originality (unless the design was some kind of nod to Winnipeg that I’m not familiar with?)

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet Home Chicago!

by ChicagoNativeSon on Jul 17, 2010 12:06 AM CDT up reply actions  

In all honesty, there’s a lot of truth in those replies. Nevertheless, you can’t help but appreciate the Caps jersey’s simplicity. It grows on you, as does the Weagle shoulder patch… like gangrene.

I guess it was just my aversion to one generally non high-profile Team having two uni’s on there. Have fun admiring your own personal best 10 (or 12 if you include “the best of the best”). Peace!

"Baseball was my first love... hockey is a sultry temptress and stole my heart." - Corey Masisak

by Scoops on Jul 19, 2010 2:25 PM CDT up reply actions  

i'm with casey

i got pretty close to including the caps’ in my list, but there’s a reason this is an OPINION article. caps jersey is nice, but to each his own.

by mikerlz on Jul 17, 2010 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions  

do not like the team, but....

The St. Louis Home jerseys are a classic look. Also glad to see Buffalo is going back to their “original” logo

by mc keeper on Jul 16, 2010 4:43 PM CDT reply actions  

St. Louis is pretty close.

to be honest, almost every team has a solid jersey to consider. I’d put St. Louis at about 13 or 14.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 5:40 PM CDT up reply actions  

MISTAKE WITH THE FLYERS JERSEY.

For the record, the Flyers jersey you note is not the Winter Classic jersey. The WC was a white based jersey, with a solid black nameplate. The jersey you speak of is the home jersey.

They utilized the orange as an away jersey up until 2001 and since 1967, when the blacks took over, and the away team colors flipped league wide. I don’t know if I’d even consider it a throwback.

The winter classic jersey – http://flyerflies.com/images/classicjersey.jpg

by Colin Patrick Quinn on Jul 16, 2010 5:46 PM CDT reply actions  

ahhh thank you.

good catch. I got a little hurried with that.

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 5:47 PM CDT up reply actions  

no probsss.

didn’t know if i was seeing things. figured anyone who writes about hockey knew what the WC’s looked like, figured it was a mistake. glad the flyers even made the list. <3 you for that.

by Colin Patrick Quinn on Jul 16, 2010 5:59 PM CDT reply actions  

Are you the REAL Colin Quinn? that’d be awesome haha

by Casey Richey on Jul 16, 2010 6:01 PM CDT up reply actions  

I’m a big fan of the Flyers jersey too. Glad they made your list Casey.

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet Home Chicago!

by ChicagoNativeSon on Jul 17, 2010 12:10 AM CDT up reply actions  

Have you guys seen the Red Wings re-branding contest at PuckDrawn?

http://www.puckdrawn.com/puckdrawn/2010/03/original-six-detroit-red-wings-rebranding-competition-announcement.html

This is super cool – a contest over at PuckDrawn where people took a crack at redesigning the Red Wings uniforms. Some of them are pretty weird, but there are a couple of cool ones too.

What do you guys think?

by Ian Merrifield on Jul 16, 2010 7:21 PM CDT reply actions  

NO NO

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

NOPE.

by haywood on Jul 16, 2010 9:36 PM CDT up reply actions  

C'mon, you guys didn't like the "Detroit Purple Gang" design mid-page??

Your guys could wear the pictured purple fedoras and the Hawks could wear Abe Lincoln-esque top hats for opening day.
Hey, if you’re gonna go throwback, go all the way.

And besides, the first design was for some team from “Detriot.” Double design fail.

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet Home Chicago!

by ChicagoNativeSon on Jul 16, 2010 11:41 PM CDT up reply actions  

Not a fan of ANY of those.

I’m pretty sure that if any owner allowed the logo to be changed he’d be run out of town.

by Casey Richey on Jul 17, 2010 12:37 AM CDT up reply actions  

FYI, when Ilitch bought the team in 1982, he considered changing the uniforms. East Side Sports in Warren did the Wings jerseys (teams had their uniforms made locally back then), and they had a number of models on display. I remember one with gold trim added that kind of looked like a San Francisco 49ers jersey. Fan response was pretty much negative back then as well so nothing ever came of this.

by mc keeper on Jul 17, 2010 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions  

The D with the wing on the top going to the left is ok

the rest are aweful.

In life, a man is either the hammer or the anvil. Ndamukong Suh is both
Pride of Detroits village idiot

by JazzyBBP on Jul 17, 2010 9:04 AM CDT up reply actions  

i wouldnt want it,

but i loved the purple gang one, just because i know the history behind that. i would never want it changed, but i smile every time i look at that one.

by mikerlz on Jul 17, 2010 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions  

Lightning?

I really like the Lightning’s blue third jersey. It’s really the only good one they have..

For some reason they cling to that black one.

by Craig Bosco on Jul 16, 2010 9:12 PM CDT reply actions  

I am not a big fan of the “Bolts” one…It’s the team nickname not the team name, I think it tends to confuse some casual fans.

by Casey Richey on Jul 17, 2010 12:32 AM CDT up reply actions  

extra number

I dont like the way a lot of teams,(San Jose, Buffalo, NYI, Dallas, to name a few) have added the players number on the front of the jersey, its looks high schollish to me, i hope its a trend that stops!

by nighthawk55 on Jul 16, 2010 10:20 PM CDT reply actions  

Collegiate or not, it still looks like hell!

by nighthawk55 on Jul 17, 2010 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions  

Pretty good list!

(… with the exception of #5)

I’m pretty in love with St. Louis’s 3rd jersey. And Edmonton’s throwback/3rd jerseys are pretty sweet. Glad you chose Minnesota’s 3rd jersey and Philly’s orange jersey. They don’t get enough love.

by breakaway on Jul 16, 2010 10:50 PM CDT reply actions  

Oh and since you're asking for our own lists...

Here’s mine minus Detroit and Chicago like you said. Just discovered the Oiler’s former 3rd jerseys are now their home jerseys.

1. Minnesota 3rd jersey
2. St. Louis 3rd jersey
3. Philadelphia home jersey (formerly their 3rd jersey)
4. Vancouver home jersey
5. Edmonton home jersey (formerly their 3rd jersey)
6. Washington home jersey
7. Montreal home jersey
8. Toronto home jersey
9. Nashville 3rd jersey
10. Los Angeles home jersey

by breakaway on Jul 16, 2010 11:02 PM CDT up reply actions  

I also like the Edmonton thirds

Glad they are going back to those. :)

"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
Science nerd and proud of it!

by Baroque on Jul 17, 2010 2:51 AM CDT up reply actions  

I can't list favorites in order

I just divide them into “loves, likes, meh, dislikes, and barf” categories. :)

I like the Edmonton thirds, Minnesota greens, the black Boston jerseys, Los Angeles black thirds, and I love the Montreal reds.

"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
Science nerd and proud of it!

by Baroque on Jul 17, 2010 2:54 AM CDT reply actions  

Long time lurker...

first time poster… I’ve always felt like St. Louis has the most to work with (non Original Six division) with the Bluenote logo. However I don’t think they’ve ever been able to pull it off properly. Examples of When Keepin it Real Goes Wrong by the Blues here and here.

"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson

by ducttape16 on Jul 17, 2010 8:58 AM CDT reply actions  

And don’t forget Mike Keenan’s favorite. Now that’s a lot to work with.

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet Home Chicago!

by ChicagoNativeSon on Jul 17, 2010 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions  

St. Louis Alternate

I think the Blues’ alternate with the circled logo is a real beauty of a sweater…they should certainly adopt it as the main design

by ManBearPig21 on Jul 17, 2010 4:28 PM CDT reply actions  

Sabres

It is actually the pre-pre-buffaslug look…they went with a horrendous black/red scheme for quite a while

by ManBearPig21 on Jul 17, 2010 4:31 PM CDT reply actions  

I have to say, as a Canuck fan, I loved seeing you rank the team’s uni over our Hab and Bud friends.

Those guys never change theirs, and we always do!

Seriously though, the Flying Vee has to get some love just for the audaciousness of it. ( Did you know the Canucks paid 250,000 to a consultant for that? The colours were supposed to be “aggressive”! )

Without any list, 10 jerseys that I love…(without the Hawks and Wings tho’? OK…they are pretty nice tho’…)

-Kings alternate blacks ( the ones Wayner wore when he came to town ) Though the purple one with yellow accents and just the crown is beautiful.
-Canucks original away jersey ( the Blue version that the current retro third mimics ) The rink on it looked a little different, and the piping was a little different.
-Rangers third with the Statue of Liberty….awesome
-Bruins classic B jersey. That is another Original 6 that should never change.
-Habs Reds…see above.
-Leafs Blues…same.
-Buffalo’s first. The Blue and Yellow one. (You have to love a logo where they outline the name of the team AND city in Pictograph form. Aliens from another Galaxy would know where they are from!)
-Canuck’s current jersey. I was at odds with the word Vancouver, but it has grown on me. When they replace the logo with a running Johnny Canuck ( our next change…)…that will be my new fave. You can see them as limited editions around now…..niiiiice.
-Flyers new “retros”. Though, I swear, that awesome colour scheme, and about the biggest epic fail as a logo. What is that…a flying “P”? That or the Black they wear too.
-Sharks Black thirds. That logo is one that DOES work, and it looks better on black than teal.

by vancitydan on Jul 17, 2010 10:37 PM CDT reply actions  

sweaters

The Toledo Goaldiggers home and away jersey of the latye 1970’s.

by jjkkk on Jul 18, 2010 9:44 AM CDT reply actions  

Besides the Wings

The first NHL jersey that comes to mind is the Washington Caps’ old blue jersey with the eagle on the front (the ones they wore in the 1998 SCF against the Wings). Mostly because I really liked that shade of blue a lot…I don’t like jerseys they wear now.

Also, I liked the Stars’ previous jerseys, the ones that had the logo on the front. I don’t like their new ones eitehr…I’m all for simplicity, but for some reason the new Stars’ jerseys look very ugly to me.

I also love Boston’s jerseys.

Other than that, I have no strong feelings towards any other teams’ jerseys. Some I obviously like more than others…but none that I like enough to include with the others I’ve mentioned…

by tehGOALIE on Jul 18, 2010 10:16 AM CDT reply actions  

Agreed on the Caps blue

There’s an alt. black version too which looks even better, but I can’t find any pictures of it.

In my day lots of messy tissues over her

by sternfan1 on Jun 18, 2010 6:30 AM PDT

by IntrepidX on Jul 21, 2010 2:45 AM CDT up reply actions  

the black looks good but

the gold numbers made it difficult to tell who it was from far away, not enough contrast i tells ya!

by Casey Richey on Jul 22, 2010 8:25 AM CDT up reply actions  

Best Sweaters in the N.H.L.

You did’nt say anything about the Blackhawks sweater. I think this one is the best sweater in the league because of the use of colors and the crossed tomahawks on the sholders.

by hockey bay fan on Jul 19, 2010 10:08 AM CDT reply actions  

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