The switch from Reebok to Adidas has seen the temporary halt of the third jersey until next season which has highlighted the main designs of the regular home and away jersey. Some do a better job of designing than others and here is part two of a two-part series on the best and worst jerseys of the NHL.
Note, same situation as part one. These are my opinion and are not universal opinions of all seven and a half billion people on Earth. Also, I’m not a fashion designer. I just like the colors and patterns so please bear with me.
Dishonorable mention) Nashville Predators
I like these jerseys but only because yellow is my favorite color. However, I completely understand why people don’t like these jerseys. If you are normal and yellow isn’t your favorite color, these things probably look abysmal to you and I get that. There is a lot of one color in these jerseys and it would be considered boring if the color that dominated these jerseys didn’t burn your eyes every time you look at them. It’s an eyeful to take in and what’s worse is that their away jerseys look even worse because then it’s nothing but yellow and white.
5) Washington Capitals
There is nothing specific about these jerseys that is especially bad but in my own opinion they just don’t look good. The number font on the back isn’t necessarily cool looking even though I think that is where they were trying to go with it. The white sleeve stripes with the thin blue line running up the jersey just looks off and I think there is a bevy of better possibilities for the Capitals and their jerseys. Also, the dark blue or navy-blue sucks and I wish they would go with a brighter more Toronto Maple Leafs blue. Not the worst look but pretty far away from ideal.
4) Anaheim Ducks
The black sucks, guys. Stop with the black. You went from all black jerseys to less black jerseys and you need to embrace the orange and gold as your colors. Drop these boring, uninspired jerseys. The number fonts with the orange outline are a definite positive due to the creativity and symbolic meaning with the little point on the top left corner symbolizing the tip of a duck wing. Other than that, these things are terrible. The logo? Nope. The colors? Not the worst but still a nope. The jersey designs? Nope. The jersey colors? Meh but still nope. Also, a little side note, the longer you go on pretending to be something that you’re not, the worse it will get. Everyone loves the teal and eggplant Mighty Ducks. Try it out again.
3) Florida Panthers
Oh goodness, Cats. Where to start? The logo is different but not an improvement. The jerseys are not an improvement by any stretch of the imagination. Why are the sleeve numbers on the shoulders? They aren’t football jerseys. Why does the broad middle stripe not go all the way around the jersey? The sleeve patches are a cool addition but they need to be switched with the numbers on the shoulders. The colors are cool and classic, the logo switching between “Florida” and “Panthers” at the top of the crest is a neat addition but overall these are a big no. Go back to the 1996 Panthers jerseys and you got yourself an outfit.
2) Los Angeles Kings
I’m not sure if I went colorblind or if these are actually that boring. I just took a look at the Vancouver Canucks jerseys and it turns out I’m not colorblind and these jerseys are just that terrible. I like how the Kings really tried to get interesting and colorful with these threads. Did you sense the sarcasm? First off, the logo is an irregular pentagon with ‘LA’ written in it. Oh, and don’t forget their old logo at the bottom of the shield. Talk about creativity. The number font is okay but the jerseys themselves are terrible. Design sucks and to top it off they are void of color. It is great when teams use color to represent a part of their identity. The color of royalty for centuries was purple. It was an extremely expensive dye to obtain so only kings and queens could have clothing and furniture in purple. Input even a little bit of purple into the look and it will look super sleek with a hint of a hidden message.
1) Columbus Blue Jackets
Boring, boring and more boring. You guys have a cannon in your arena. A cannon. Clearly excitement is a big part of your identity. Your logo has the flag of Ohio sweeping across a star in a ‘C’ shape standing for Columbus and there is a silver, five-point star in the middle of your crests. Fast, exciting, energy and creativity is your forte and your jerseys are completely void of those four things. The color sucks although it makes sense I guess. The red pants are way out of place and are a big no. The design looks like it was created in about two and a half minutes if that and it is just all bad. There are a lot of other directions to go in these jerseys. To end on a positive, the shoulder patches are creative and awesome. That’s it though.