Ranking the 31 Current NHL Unis (31 - 26)
After my last jersey ranking article, I quickly realized how passionate people are about hockey jerseys. Especially Buffalo Sabres fans… I’ve always been a fan of sports uniforms and jerseys too, and seeing how well-received my last article was (*heavy sarcasm*), I figured, “why not try it again?” This list is comprised of all current 31 NHL teams and takes into consideration their home and away unis. No 3rds, no alternates, no Winter Classics. Just the basics here, and I’ll be releasing 5 at a time. Here’s the bottom 6 to start.
Cory Perry, not on the Ducks anymore, but you get the idea.
31. Anaheim Ducks
Orange for Orange County. Ok, cool I guess. Black and Gold to show support for the Army. Ok, actually pretty cool. Giant ugly webbed D right in the middle of the jersey. Not cool. Not cool at all. It looks terrible and misplaced. It’s hideous and downright offensive. I get that ducks aren’t the epitome of “cool sports mascots” but I feel like there are just so many better options than a foot. An ugly foot. For example, the Quad-City Mallards of the ECHL is a much better take on a duck logo and looks way better than Anaheim’s. An ugly jersey with a mash-up of crazy colors and the worst logo in the league.
Derek Stepan
30. Arizona Coyotes
Arizona would be wise to return to the old Kachina jerseys. The “new” look is just odd and doesn’t mesh well at all. The black and red (navy red? I’m not sure what to call it) don’t mix and the striping on the arms/socks of the jerseys are just a mess. I get that the small-market teams need to have something different and less traditional, but that doesn’t mean ugly. The Kachina jerseys are exactly that: non-traditional and different. Some may say ugly, but I think they’re great and the desert dogs need to go back to their roots and return to their original style.
Kopitar and Doughty
29. Los Angeles Kings
A lack of color seriously brings down the Kings’ style points. Purple and gold LA Kings? Sign me up. Black and white? Too boring. The logo is a step up from the old crown look, but it is still missing something. I think going back to just a touch of purple in the jerseys wouldn’t be a bad idea.
So. Much. Yellow.
28. Nashville Predators
So. Much. Yellow. I like the idea of something different but there’s a reason that yellow isn’t a common primary color in hockey unis. The logo is still that ridiculous saber-tooth tiger that is just a disaster on the front of the jersey. I get that the reason it’s on there is because of the saber-tooth tiger remains found in the mountains of Tennessee. That’s cool but let’s dial it back for the jersey. Something a little more subtle would go a long way with these jerseys. The guitar strings on the numbers is a cool touch, but the lack of creativity since they switched to this style in 2018 is lackluster and I think this team deserves a little better.
Sonk Yandle
27. Florida Panthers
Another team that has lost its way. They ditched the yellow back in 2016 for the gold. This was a mistake in my eyes. The red/yellow/navy mashup was a lot of color, but it worked. The gold striping is too boring and doesn’t pop the way the yellow did. Also, the striping around the chest doesn’t wrap around the entire jersey. They also switched to this soccer-style logo which pales in comparison to their previous “leaping panther” logo. That logo was fierce and exciting. The new logo is meh. The new panther does look like coach Q, so that is a positive for the team.
Parise and Zuuuuuuucccc
26. Minnesota Wild
Again, with the striping that doesn’t wrap around the entire jersey… If you aren’t going to wrap the chest stripe around the entire jersey, don’t have a chest stripe. It just doesn’t look good. I do like Minnesota’s color scheme, but they seem to have a love/hate relationship with using red as a part of their unis. Each time the Wild change their unis, they use less and less red. I’m not sure why. The red looks good with the dark green color and has a very unique style to it. The logo is pretty cool and detailed. The cool colors and logos leave me wondering why the jerseys they have now feel so uninspired and boring. Not the worst on this list, but I do feel like the Wild could have something much better.
Written by Andrew Silvers
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