NHL Expansion: the great debate
NHL expansion has been a big topic over the last few years with the addition of the Seattle Kraken in 2021 and the success of reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, who entered the league just seven years ago.
Recently, the owners of the Utah Jazz expressed interest in bringing an NHL franchise to Salt Lake City. I’m not sure if the plan would be to move an existing franchise or if this plan would be to add a 33rd team, but regardless, it does give us the possibility of a brand new jersey, and that always excites me.
I know this has been done many, many times in the past few years by jersey fans; but here I am, throwing my hat in this already bloated clickbait topic! I’m picking the best from the six waves of NHL expansion.
The Next Six
The National Hockey League expanded for the first time in 1967, doubling the number of NHL franchises from six to 12.
Joining the league that year were the Oakland Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, and the LA Kings. The latter four teams have come to form the backbone of the modern NHL.
Best of the bunch: I gotta go with the LA Kings. They used eye-catching colours with a simple striping design, and their gold home jerseys were a breath of fresh air in a time when every other home team wore white in their home barn. And, that detail in the crest was superb! The NHL hadn’t seen stitching that intricate since the Chicago Blackhawks.
Runner Up: The Oakland Seals. The green and blue looked good together and would be later adopted by the beloved Hartford Whalers. Putting big, bold numbers on the shoulder was an original concept for hockey, more commonly seen in football, but it worked well with this uniform. Shoulder numbers would later make a comeback with the Florida Panthers, on their current jerseys. The Picasso-esque crest was sure to turn some art lovers into hockey fans.
The 1967 Kings stepped onto the ice in style- and these jerseys are still fresh, 50+ years later.
Way ahead of its time, this jersey truly does belong in an art museum.
The '70s expansion
Six more teams joined the ‘Chel from 1970 to 1975, including the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Atlanta Flames, Kansas City Scouts and the Washington Capitals.
Honestly, I really like the KC Scouts jerseys, but their logo reminded me of an old magazine cigarette ad… they’re great jerseys, but don’t smoke!
Best of the bunch: The New York Islanders win this one. Their colours and logo have become an NHL icon, so much so that when the Isles attempted to switch things up with their angry fisherman logo in 1995, they were forced to switch back to the classic crest and colours by their outraged fanbase.
Runner up: The Atlanta Flames. We still see a version of this jersey today with the Calgary Flames. The iconic flamin’ A crest was adopted by Calgary for their alternate captains. Just couldn’t let the Atlanta Flames memory die! Maybe that’s part of the reason why the NHL is looking to go back to Atlanta- third time’s the charm!
A jersey that was so classic, the team kept it even after moving cities!
Timeless, classic, whatever you want to call it- that’s the Islanders!
Wha absorption
When the World Hockey Association collapsed in the late 1970s, four teams migrated over to the NHL: The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and the Winnipeg Jets.
The Edmonton Oilers jerseys of this era are synonymous with the greatest player to ever play the game, Wayne Gretzky, and arguably the greatest Stanley Cup dynasty of all-time. So, it’s tough not giving the Oilers the best of the bunch nod on this one.
Best of the bunch: It’s got to be the Quebec Nordiques. The powder blue and white colours were gorgeous, and the simple striping gave them a very clean look. I love the three fleur de lis across the waist, and the crest — although not at its final form in 1979 — was unique with the stylized N inside an igloo made with a hockey stick and puck. When I was a kid, I thought it was an elephant.
Runner up: The Hartford Whalers. I really like all four of the WHA expansion team’s jerseys, but I have always had a place in my heart for the Whalers’ blue and green. The symmetrical HW crest was beautiful. I had a girlfriend with the initials HW and made her a shirt with that logo in her favourite colours, but she noticed the whale fins before her initials… this wasn’t taken as the sweet gesture I thought it would be.
A sea of Nordiques blue.
Even though the Whalers have come and gone, their jersey still remains a fan favourite to this day.
the sun belt expansion
In the early to mid-90s, the NHL expanded into warm climate markets — and Ottawa. Five teams — the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim all took to the ice, and I gotta say, they weren’t great, both performance-wise and looks-wise.
Best of the bunch: I’m giving this one to the San Jose Sharks, who gave us bold new teal sweaters that kids fawned over. The logo was interesting, and remains relatively unchanged to this day.
Runner up: The Tampa Bay lightning jerseys featured a basic stripe pattern, nothing too original there, but that was all made up for by the numbers. The Lightning tool number fonts into a strange, psychedelic place. They were The Beatles of numbers!
Mr. Hockey himself poses in the iconic Sharks sweater.
A regular jersey with incredibly creative fonts!
The Millennium Expansion
The turn of the millennium gave hockey fans four more teams to cheer for, beginning in 1998 with the Nashville Predators, then the Atlanta Thrashers in ‘99, and finally the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild in 2000.
It was an exciting time for hockey as the league filled out to 30 teams — bringing the NHL in line with other major North American professional sports leagues. Each of these new teams got really creative with their jerseys and logos, so this might be the toughest decision yet.
Best of the bunch: First place goes to the Nashville Predators. They used the jersey space nicely, and gave us a logo nobody was expecting from the Country Music Capital, so the Preds get top marks for keeping us on our toes.
Runner up: Atlanta Thrashers. Everything about these jerseys was different, so it obviously scared the traditional hockey fan! Great colour mix, interesting striping, and the little arrows around the waist and neck made me want one. The thrasher bird is not a very threatening animal, but these jerseys sure made it terrifying!
The Preds’ inaugural season jerseys in all their glory.
Cool colours, sharp stripes, and incredible attention to detail, right down to the little arrows around the neck and waist.
the new wave
The NHL continued to expand in 2017 with the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, and then again in 2021, with the debut of the Seattle Kraken. It’s not entirely clear how far the league intends to go with this current wave of expansion, but, you only need two teams for a competition.
Best of the bunch: Seattle Kraken. I’m loving the seafoam and navy colour combo, and I really dig the subtle red accent striping on the arms and waist. The logo is understated, but there’s a few easter eggs in it, like the tentacle and the red eye, which I love, too.
Runner up: These both should be the best of the bunch, truthfully. Vegas used all sorts of new techniques on these jerseys. Imprints on the sleeves and you’ll never forget where you were the first time you saw that glitter gold up close.
Macklemore and Marshawn Lynch, partial Kraken owners, pose with the O.G. Kraken home threads.
A group of Golden Knights fans prepare for the Stanley Cup Final in the team’s inaugural home jerseys (2018.)
hockey jerseys: the more the merrier
I grew up with a 21 team league, and 32 teams already seems like a lot. Of course back then, expansion teams were pretty much sentenced to a decade of losing, but now in the salary cap era they can be good from the get-go, so competitiveness isn’t too much of an issue these days.
One thing I will never, ever complain about is more jerseys. As a jersey maker, I love seeing new designs and new takes on old hockey sweaters, and every expansion team has given us something to love — or something to hate, which in sports, can be just as important.
If you love hockey and hockey jerseys as much as I do, you’ll want to sign up for the 4 Shots with Keener newsletter. Every week I give you something to love (or hate) right in your in-box. Whether it’s my thoughts on who shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame, or a list of the greatest comebacks in hockey history, it’s always a fun discussion, and you’re sure to learn something about hockey jerseys, too.
Check it out: an interactive map showing NHL expansion from the very beginning of the league… with period specific logos!
