My Ten Favorite NHL Uniforms

After bashing some uniforms on Wednesday, it seems only fitting to praise others in order to balance things out.  Without any further to do, I present my favorite uniforms in the NHL.

10. New York Rangers – No matter how many posers try to imitate the diagonal letters on the Rangers’ sweaters, no team will ever get it right the way New York does.  The home jersey is good, but the away jersey is great, as it really matches well with the pants to create an iconic look.  The Rangers can’t help but toy with their thirds (I have no idea where the navy blue is coming from), but their kits are very sharp overall.

9. Nashville Predators – In case you haven’t seen them, take a look.  After infamously whiffing on their first attempts at yellow uniforms, the Predators seemed to finally get it right this time.  The yellow is a refreshing break from the black and navy jerseys worn around the league.  Their old uniforms were just plain ugly; their efforts to make silver their big color made the jersey an eyesore.   The new design has no silver, sleek stripes, and stands out in a crowd.  This might be the sweater that finally gives Nashville some needed recognition.

8. Philadelphia Flyers – Another good classic uniform.  The traffic cone orange gives the team more of a identity then their former black uniforms, which were plain and lacked color.  The throwback to the Broad Street Bullies of the ’70s is another nice touch.

7. St. Louis Blues – There sure is a heck of a lot in this uniform.  There is piping everywhere, stripes on the collar and sleeves, and a wacky line on the pants.  What makes a busy uniform like this work for me is the contrast throughout.  On Wednesday I bashed the Hurricanes uniform for being too busy, but it doesn’t have the same contrast as the Blues’ uniform.  St. Louis has about equal amounts of blue, gold, dark blue, and white; all colors that contrast well with each other.  Carolina has copious amounts of red, and it just seems to overpower the whole uniform.  In the St. Louis uniform, no one color totally dominates the kit; everything seems balanced.  Even though many people dislike this uniform, I always had a thing for it.

6. Montreal Canadiens – I would be remiss not to mention the classic Canadien uniforms.  Much like the Rangers, the home jersey is good, but the away jersey is great.  The stripes are all simple, but they really seem to pop.  No need to change these beauties for a long time in Montreal.

5. Edmonton Oilers – Last year, the Oilers decided that they would honor their franchise’s golden days of Gretzky, Kuri,and Coffey by bringing back the team’s original colors and uniforms.  The move has payed dividends.  It’s a classic uniform with plenty of history.  Now all the Oilers need to do is get rid of the navy blue thirds, which were the teams main home jerseys before the switch.

4. New  York Islanders – Like the Oilers, the Islanders made a good choice to drop the old navies for the classic, lighter uniforms.  The simplicity of the jersey is refreshing, and the nod to the past seems appropriate for a team that hasn’t done much recently.  You wonder how much longer they’ll get to wear these sweaters, though, as the stadium deal in Long Island does not look like a sure thing at all.

3. Florida Panthers – Yes, perhaps as a Panthers fan I bumped this jersey up, but it still is a great looking sweater.  The red looks even better than it did in the days of yore, and the subtraction of  the piping goes a long way.  I’m not sure of the team will get new pants, socks or a third jersey, because that could definitely improve the overall look as well.  To be honest, I’d rather forget about last year’s jerseys, so I’d love to replace the rest of the uniform.  The red sweaters are a great start, though.

2. Buffalo Sabres – This might seem like it’s coming out out right field, but I believe the Sabres are the best dressed team in the Eastern Conference right now.  The blues are nice, but the white jersey is an instant classic in my eyes.  The horizontal stripes look great, and the small touches of silver make the away sweater really nice.  I also love that they got rid of the silly banana slug buffalo logo, the new circular logo is much better in all aspects.

1. Chicago Blackhawks – What can I say?  How can I define perfection?  The white and black is in perfect balance with the red, the logo is fantastic, and the socks look great, too.  Even the third jerseys look good.  There can’t be any argument that the Blackhawks have the best jersey in hockey right now.