For the past month or so I’ve been a featured contributor to LAKings.com – as part of a group of writers who answer four questions each week. One of the topics posed in the most recent column was which NHL teams have the best and worst jerseys. Just like you would expect, opinions can vary greatly on this subject. And after responding to a few readers on twitter about why I did or didn’t like their team’s particular jersey, I was asked to rank the sweaters of the entire 30 team league.
So, here you go. Let’s start with the worst and work our way up from there. For context, I’ve added a few quick comments as well…
30. Nashville Predators – Music City is represented by a saber-toothed cat, need we say more?
29. Minnesota Wild – somebody tried to get way too creative with that logo and the red accents aren’t helping
28. Carolina Hurricanes – perhaps the worst logo in all of sports
27. Colorado Avalanche – one of the first teams to think outside the box with colors, hasn’t held up well
26. Columbus Blue Jackets – you would think red, white and blue would be hard to mess up – they did it
25. Tampa Bay Lightning – didn’t have much to work with from before and new designs are too copycat looking
24. Dallas Stars – recent changes have them going the wrong direction
23. Ottawa Senators – retro cool factor wore off in less than two years
22. New York Islanders – add the jerseys to the long list of things weighing this franchise down
21. Florida Panthers – credit for trying to be colorful, need to tone overall look down to become more classy
20. Buffalo Sabres – a return to blue and gold was step in the right direction, just not enough steps forward
19. Pittsburgh Penguins – should bring back the modern penguin logo, current version is – well – too cartoonish
18. St Louis Blues – as long as they don’t wear their late ’90s trumpet jerseys, they’re one step ahead
17. Anaheim Ducks – color changes and redesigned logo vastly improved what were once league worst unis
16. New Jersey Devils – nothing really wrong here, solid entry, yet a middle of the road look
15. San Jose Sharks – who would have ever thought they could get away with mixing in some orange
14. Montreal Canadiens – their threads don’t match their success on the ice over the last 100 years
13. Phoenix Coyotes – had nowhere to go but up from the early days and went classic, not cheesy
12. Los Angeles Kings – put the modern black and white crown on the current jersey, moves to top five
11. Detroit Red Wings – stylish enough to be in upper-third, but not one of the elite looks, despite sales
10. Calgary Flames – leave the black out and destroy Winter Classic edition, standard is top notch
9. Winnipeg Jets – original jersey and logo would rank much lower
8. Toronto Maple Leafs – like their rivals in Boston, a great (and timeless) logo
7. Washington Capitals – one of the few ‘updated’ jerseys to get it done correctly
6. New York Rangers – old school cool
5. Edmonton Oilers – a truly beautiful jersey, home or away
4. Boston Bruins – could easily be ranked higher, great logo
3. Vancouver Canucks – nice modern design, without trying to look edgy
2. Philadelphia Flyers – good use of black and a bright color, screams hockey
1. Chicago Blackhawks – perhaps the most perfect jersey in all of sports
A few years ago we also provided rankings for each NHL city. Click here to peruse that list now.
“The logo was a reference to a partial Smilodon skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971, during construction of the First American National Bank building.”
I agree about the crown on the Kings jerseys.
You’re kidding about the Capitals, right? It’s a red jersey with random splotches of white and blue on the sides. Not to mention they don’t even have a logo. How is it 7th overall?
Also, you have Philly 2nd best for “good use of black”… Their current home and road set uses almost zero black!
Your comment about the Flyers minimal use of black is exactly my point. Rather than over use it like the Flames, Sharks and so many other teams have done through the years (including Philly actually), they’ve pulled back and now use the proper amount – just enough to to compliment their logo.
Unbelievable how well-written this was. I disagree with some of the rankings (Red Wings so low really?), but its still a great article.
I think Nashville has a great color combination. To be honest I did not even remember what was on the front of the jersey. I just think the color combinations work better than most. When Nashville is a better team people will like this jersey more.
coyotes above the Habs? not sure i agree with that one. otherwise, a pretty decent list.
not sure i agree with you on Chicago as #1 but i think you’re always gonna have people disagreeing on that spot.
like the placement of the Oliers – not even sure why it is i like ’em but i’ve always had a thing for them.