NHL TEAM JERSEYS ALL REPRESENT SOMETHING.
There are a few new jerseys on the docket for the 2024-25 NHL campaign, and this is the time of year where you see a lot of jersey power rankings articles. But as a jersey maker I look at hockey sweaters like they’re my children — I love them all equally for their unique qualities.
So instead of ranking all 32 NHL team jerseys, I’m going to tell you a fun fact or something that I love about every NHL club’s current hockey sweater.
Let’s get to it!
ANAHEIM DUCKS
This year the Ducks are going back with an updated version of their original logo. Among the alterations is the addition of a glowing orange eye peering out from behind the mask, and the hockey tape on the sticks form two Ws for “Wild Wing”, the Ducks’ mascot. Nice little easter egg there.
BOSTON BRUINS
The Bruins will be rocking their 2023 look this year. One thing I love about the Bruins logo is that it is a spoked wheel, referencing the city’s nickname “The Hub”. That nickname came about in the mid-1800s, when author Oliver Wendell Holmes accused Boston of being so self-absorbed that they thought of themselves as the “hub of the universe”. Boston hilariously reappropriated the phrase.
Love the gall!
BUFFALO SABRES
The Sabres’ logo is the only crest in the NHL that reads like a rebus, one of those puzzles where pictures replace words. What do you see? A buffalo, and two sabres.
Buffalo Sabres.
The embroidery detail in the buffalo (or, bison in my parts,) is a work of art.
CALGARY FLAMES
The Flames’ third jersey features a fire breathing horse, affectionately known as “Blasty”. The logo was designed by a young teenager as part of a logo contest run by the Calgary Sun. World-class drawer and native Calgarian, Todd McFarlane (creator of Spawn) offered to design a new logo for the Flames for free, but the Flames didn’t take him up on the offer.
It would have just been wrong to have him design an Oilers AND a Flames logo.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Logos aren’t the only place that you’ll find hidden meanings. Take the Carolina Hurricanes jerseys for example.
The black and red squares that form the waist stripe on the ‘Canes’ road and third jerseys are actually hurricane warning flags like the ones used by the US maritime warning flag system!
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
The Blackhawks logo is a mainstay on many top 10 jersey lists, and I can see why. The chain stitching makes the crest look very detailed, as if someone’s grandmother spent 26 man-hours knitting it in her rocking chair beside the fireplace.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
It’s fairly obvious to just about anybody that the Avalanche’s logo is a big A with an avalanche of snow cascading from the top of the A down to the bottom — you know, like an avalanche. What you might not realize is that the avalanche of snow forms a C for “Cale Makar”. Either that or “Colorado”, I’ll have to double check.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
The most unique thing about the Blue Jackets’ jerseys are their game-worn tags. While most teams use a simple game worn tag with basic jersey info, the Jackets have opted to include photos of Columbus, the Jackets’ dressing room, and even a shot from the movie The Big Lebowski.
Definitely some of the coolest game-worn tags in the NHL.
DALLAS STARS
Dallas’ alternate jersey is a fun one. The neon green on black is a nod to the Dallas skyline where the green-lit Bank of America Plaza stands out against the midnight black night sky. These hockey sweaters look almost radioactive.
DETROIT RED WINGS
What I love about the Detroit Red Wings jersey is how it makes the logo the star of the show. The logo is timeless and intricate, and the simple jersey design doesn’t upstage it. And it’s that simplicity that makes their arched names stand out, too.
Very cool choice.
EDMONTON OILERS
These Oilers bibs are the same color and stripe pattern as the ones they wore in their glory days with Gretzky and Messier.
I really like these jerseys because McDavid and Draisaitl feel like the second-coming of Gretz and Mess, so it’s nice to get them in the same shirts.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
At first glance you might think that the Panthers logo is the same on both their home and away jerseys. But, look closer. The home jersey logo says “Panthers” on it while the road version says “Florida”. A very baseball thing to do.
Also, Florida has the patches spelling out ‘Captain‘ and ‘Alternate‘ on the left sleeve of the players wearing the C and As – to show people the ‘A’ stands for ALTERNATE, NOT ASSISTANT!
LOS ANGELES KINGS
This year the Kings are bringing back the Gretzky era black and silver getups. Glitter twill has been a part of the Kings’ jerseys since ’98, so why stop now? The Kings have also not used name bars, just letters stitched directly to the jersey, since ’92 – so why start now?
MINNESOTA WILD
The Minnesota Wild’s logo is crammed full of easter eggs. You probably see that the landscape of the Minnesota wilderness is in the shape of a bear, and that the river of the landscape forms the bear’s mouth. But did you realize that the river is also in the shape of a loon, Minnesota’s state bird?
And the moon is in the shape of a Loonie, Canadian currency, because they’re so close to Canada! That last one is just my theory.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Most of the time a team’s home and road jerseys are just color inversions of one another. But, the Habs’ home jersey includes a blue stripe around the ribcage area, while the road bib has no such stripe.
I love how you can look back all the way to Phantom Joe Malone and see the same jersey being worn.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
There’s lots to love about the Preds’ tarps. My favorite part is the sublimated guitar strings on their jersey numbers.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Sometimes simplicity is more creative than anything. That’s what I love about the Devils’ logo. It’s an N and a J smooshed together. Brilliant.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
I love it when teams honour their history in their logo. The Islanders do this well. The four strips of hockey tape on the stick in their logo represents their four Stanley Cup victories.
NEW YORK RANGERS
The Rangers’ jerseys are relatively simple, but they were the first team to use drop shadowing on their numbers. They continue to use the style to this day.
Connor Hellebuyck loves the font so much that he even used it for the numbers on one of his masks, and he doesn’t even play for the Rangers.
OTTAWA SENATORS
The new Sens road jerseys are the first jersey they’ve had with white arms below the elbow, and that makes for a nice clean look in my rarely humble opinion.
It helps keep the eyes focused on the classic Sens logo. Nice.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
The Philadelphia Flyers’ branding is so on point that their colours and logo have achieved a level of reverence typically reserved for the Original Six franchises.
And that’s what I love about the Flyers’ jerseys — there’s so much history captured in that one timeless crest.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
These days the trend for new teams seems to be naming their squad after a ferocious animal. That’s fine, but I much prefer how teams used to make otherwise cute animals tough, like the brawny penguin on Pittsburgh’s logo. He’s clearly skipping leg day.
The triangle has meaning, too. It symbolizes Pittsburgh’s downtown area which is a triangle of land located at the forks of the Ohio River.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
If you majored in music in college, you’ll no doubt know that the four wings on the St. Louis Blues musical note makes it a 64th note.
And if you minored in history, you’ll also know that that’s a nod to the year the city of St. Louis was born, 1764.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
If you’re going to use a ferocious animal, please always make sure that they’re chomping a hockey stick in half!
Makes me wonder how the stick got in the ocean in the first place.
SEATTLE KRAKEN
I love the colours of the Seattle Kraken jersey. Not since the original San Jose Sharks outfits have I been this taken by a team’s colour scheme.
The best thing to come out of Seattle since Pearl Jam!
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
This is a perfect example of less is more. The Bolts’ two-toned logo sans words coupled with simple single stripes on the elbows and waist make for a very smart look.
So fresh and so clean, clean.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
For an Original Six team, the Leafs sure do change their logo a lot. I like the current iteration.
The 17 veins on the leaf represent 1917, the year the team was born, and the leaf’s 31 points represent 1931, the year that Maple Leaf Gardens opened. So, 17 plus 31 equals 48, plus the 10 letters spelling ‘MAPLE LEAFS’ in the centre adds up to 58. Minus 1 for some reason and you have 57 letters – and that’s how many years it’s been since the Leafs’ last cup.
So much symbolism in that crest!
UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
The new club in Utah hasn’t officially landed on a name or a logo yet, and so they’ll be taking the ice for their inaugural season with these placeholder unis.
What I like about them is that they’re a one-off, and so after this season they’ll become classics. Get one while you can.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
The Canucks’ flying skate jerseys are just beautiful. I love the colour combination and I love how the skate boot is formed with nothing but lines.
The huge blade that encompasses the name ‘CANUCKS’ makes the skate look more like a speed skate.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
These gold Vegas jerseys actually sparkle because they’re made with a metallic looking material.
Very unique!
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
When it comes to the Caps, my favourite thing is that the hockey stick in the logo takes the place of the T in the word Capitals. A lot of people think that the hockey stick takes the place of the L and are shocked to learn they’ve been wrong their entire lives.
It’s one of the many hockey Mandela Effects I’ve noticed over the years.
WINNIPEG JETS
This might be the Winnipegger in me talking, but the Jets’ Heritage Classic jersey may just be the hottest blouse in the Chel. I love the old 80s logo, and I hope beyond hope that they give the old 90s logo the same treatment soon.
THERE'S SOMETHING TO LOVE ABOUT EVERY HOCKEY JERSEY
What would hockey be without hockey jerseys? Jerseys help give teams an identity, something the whole locker room can rally around, and something that fans can latch on to. Next time you strap on the blades for a beer league game, remember how it feels to see a well dressed team warming up on the other end of the rink. It’s intimidating. That’s the power of jerseys.
I’m excited for this coming NHL season and all the new hockey sweaters we’re going to see. And I can’t wait to write about them, so if you liked this article, subscribe to my weekly newsletter, 4 Shots with Keener. Every Friday you’ll receive a blast of interesting stuff about hockey jerseys and hockey culture. It’s fun and, best of all, it’s free.
See you next week!
