2015-16 NHL Season's New Jerseys

The current 2015-16 NHL season has seen the most jersey changes and additions since the Reebok Edge System took the league by storm in 2007.  Some of the changes are beautiful, while others not so much.  In this article we will be breaking down each new jersey with a rating out of five to explain the overall rankings featured at the end of the article. 

The Anaheim Ducks 

4/5

The Ducks are truly going back to their roots with their new orange alternate which features the beloved Anaheim Mighty Ducks logo from back when Disney owned the franchise.  This blast from the past complements their new gold, black, and orange color scheme very nicely, appealing to both eras of the team's fan base.  The only aspect that is offsetting is the lack of a thin orange stripe in the base pattern like the ones part of the sleeve stripes. 

Arizona Coyotes

2.5/5

For a team with a quality logo and the only variation of maroon as their primary color, the Coyotes had a great opportunity to correct their old simplistic design, but instead they did the opposite.  There is so much wrong with these new uniforms, starting with the sleeve design.  The tri-colored sleeve distracts from the rest of the uniform and takes away from their logo's intimidating presence.  Additionally, their away socks contain mostly maroon and black, not white.  There is an unwritten rule in hockey that jerseys and socks must be the same color, unless you are the Boston Bruins of course (an original six franchise).  Overall, Arizona transitioned from a far too simplistic design to a far too complicated one.  Hopefully they will be able to find a happy medium in the near future.   

Colorado Avalanche

 4/5

With a fantastic modernization of the historic Colorado Rockies logo, the Avalanche have created a third jersey worth purchasing.  Not only does this design speak to nostalgia, it also reconnects the distanced franchise with the new young and elite Avalanche team of the present.  They have also incorporated the "C" portion of the triangular logo onto the shoulder yokes of their primary uniforms, replacing their famous yet controversial big foot logo. 

Edmonton Oilers

4.5/5

The third jersey all hockey fans have been waiting for the Oilers to wear has arrived.  Orange has been just as big of a color as blue since the franchise's founding, so it is nice to see it finally receive the precognition it deserves.  The traditional two-colored stripes located on the sleeves and on the base of the uniform, along with the placement of the sleeve numbers on the shoulder yokes rather than the sleeves themselves, give this alternate jersey a retro feel that brings with it a reminiscence of the Gretzky dynasty days.  

New York Islanders

2/5

I do not know what it is with the Islanders and black, but after another try with it as their third jersey's primary color, you'd think they realize enough is enough.  Not only is this jersey bland, plain, and completely lacking of blue and orange, it is a disgrace to the Islanders' history and dynasty years.  They claim the four stripes featured on the sleeves and socks represent their four cups and glory days, but we all know that it is really just a public relations stunt to get fan approval for a jersey obviously marketed towards Brooklyn Nets fans and not Islanders followers.  Instead of the Islanders worrying about creating a fresh Brooklyn image so they can "fit in" at their new Arena (Barclays Center), they should be flaunting their historic blue and orange colors to win Brooklyn over that way. 

Washington Capitals

3.5/5

The use of the correct shade of red, white, and blue is finally being used in a Capitals jersey.  This bright, patriotic rendition of their old primary jersey really "pops" on TV and immediately sends the message that this team is from the capital of the United States.  The only thing keeping this jersey from scoring higher is the fact that it is basically a reverse of their previous white third jersey that they wore in the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.

2015-16 New Jersey Rankings

1. Edmonton Oilers 
2. Colorado Avalanche 
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. Washington Capitals 
5. Arizona Coyotes 
6. New York Islanders

Review: NHL Heritage Classic Jerseys

In the 2014 NHL Heritage Classic, the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators will go head to head while wearing classic jerseys that their franchises have worn in the past.  In this article we are going to evaluate each teams jersey and, at the end, decide who has the better one.

 Vancouver Canucks

Unfortunately, the Canucks have had some very ugly jerseys in their past (http://www.nhluniforms.com/Canucks/Canucks04.html), so its not a surprise that their throwbacks are ugly as well.  They did an excellent job sticking to their roots and I commend them for taking a risk by using such an unappealing design.  However, to start, the maroon primary color of the sweaters is a mucky muddy color and such a dark color would probably have issues standing out on TV, especially while outdoors.  Secondly, the pants!  There are certain unwritten rules in hockey and white pants are something that you just don't wear as they are ugly and flat out weird (they also stain).  On a more positive note, the striping pattern on the sleeves of the jersey, although not great, is pretty cool as it brings back memories of old time hockey when the players actually wore real wool sweaters.  The Canucks, obviously did not have many attractive historic jersey designs to work with, but I still have to give these a failing grade.   

Ottawa Senators

Just as many hockey fans suspected, the Senators are going with the old style "O" logo that their original franchise (1917-1934) wore.  The Sens current third jersey features the same "O" but the base color for that jersey is black.  In the Heritage Classic, however, the Senators have made a white version of their alternate jersey with a few modifications.  These jerseys are not great, but they are certainly better than Vancouver's puke color ones.  To start, it is very cool that the Senators are trying to bring their fans and their players all the way back to when hockey first started in Ottawa.  Also, just like Vancouver, it was a great move by the Ottawa management to try and make these jerseys resemble that of an old time wool hockey sweater.  The red and black striping that goes across the chest really brings out that "old time" look.  The only thing that I don't like about the jerseys is that they have a very close resemblance to the Sens third jerseys and I feel, when designing jerseys for these once in a lifetime outdoor games, the jerseys should be very unique.  This lack of innovation and uniqueness has earned the Senators a "B" on the grading scale. 

Final Rankings:

1. Ottawa Senators
2. Vancouver Canucks

Let us know which jersey you feel is better by commenting below!  As always, tweet us (@JerseyCloset) if you have any suggestions for our articles in the future!

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Review: LA Kings Home Jersey

There are not many teams that can have primary colors of black and white and make them look good, but the Los Angles Kings are one of the few teams in the world that can.  These jerseys are down right intimidating and more importantly memorable.

The Kings jerseys are very simple in the sense that they only have one horizontal stripe and one thin vertical stripe on the arm sleeves.  Other than that, this jersey is completely black.  Their logo is very appealing as well... the "LA" immediately tells you where this team is from and the historic crown under it says everything else. 

None of that, however, is the main reason why these sweaters are great.  The best part about these uniforms is the silver bands that go around the white stripes on the arm.  These metallic looking stripes stand out tremendously and on TV the way they reflect light creates a shiny effect perfect for the look of a King.

The Kings pants have two white stripes

The only issue with the Kings uniform has nothing to do with their jerseys, it is the pants!  The Pants contain two thin white stripes that go down the legs and they don't coincide with any design on the jersey or socks.  The Kings organization should replace this with a single silver stripe (just like the one going down the arm sleeve on the jersey) or get even simpler and wear plain black pants.


That is our opinion on the LA Kings jerseys, what do you think?  Let us know in the comments below.  Also, check out our Twitter feed: @JerseyCloset.


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Winter Classic Jersey Review

On January 1st, 2014, the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs participated in a historic, record breaking NHL Winter Classic.  The atmosphere was unimaginable as fans packed the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI and set an NHL league attendance record!  Not only was this an amazing game, the classic sweaters that the two clubs wore were also pretty cool. Both team's jerseys captured the essence of the their organization's history and tradition.  Also, an NHL first, the league allowed both teams to wear dark jerseys (blue and red) as they felt it was the only way to fully complete the blast from the past.

Justin Abdelkader Scores in his Snazzy Uni!

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings had already participated in the 2009 Winter Classic, so the team had to come up with a jersey design/logo that was new, attractive, and even more memorable than before. The Wings succeeded at this as they launched a jersey and logo that featured a color scheme using their primary color of red and their historic manilla (off-white) color for the stripes.  Overall, this jersey is very attractive and it really stands out as the word Detroit immediately tells fans who they are and where they are from.  The classic font that the numbers and name have on the back create a very compelling/historic feel to the jersey as well.

Joffrey Lupul (left) and Dion Phaneuf (right) Chat before a Faceoff

Toronto Maple Leafs 

Unlike the Wings, Toronto was in their first Winter Classic so they had a little more leeway when designing their classic sweater, and "classic" is definitely the right word to describe it.  The Leafs kept their historic blue and white, but added a classic striping pattern up the sleeve and they even brought back their historic (differently shaped) logo.  Another aspect of the jersey that Leaf fans were rather unfamiliar with was the addition of a thin white shoulder yoke.  Just like Detroit, the Maple Leafs created a sweater that brought back so many old time hockey memories, the element of the jersey that created that feel was by far the old style maple leaf with the traditional font inside of it.  That logo dates back to when the team was first founded!

Both teams released arguably the best looking Winter Classic sweaters in the history of the event, so here at The Jersey Closet we could not decide on a winner... we want you to pick by voting in our poll located on the left side panel of the blog.

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Review: Buffalo Sabres New Third Jersey

After going a couple of NHL seasons without a third jersey, the Sabres aren't anymore as they have released one of the strangest jerseys in NHL history.  These jerseys have two primary colors: the front is mainly yellow and the back is blue.  They are the only team in the league to have a multiple toned jersey and that is not something to be proud of because this jersey is probably one of the worst in the league today.

Sabres debut their new sweaters.

First off, this jersey has grey numbers outlined with yellow on the back which blend in with the navy blue.  In my opinion, they should have reversed it and went with yellow numbers and a gray outline.  That would make the back of the jersey stand out a little more and create contrast with the very bright yellow on the front side of the sweater.  Secondly, I do not understand the purpose of the sleeves turning plain grey once they get passed the elbow.  If the team decided to change that and make the bottom part just like the rest of the arm, the jersey would not be as bad as it is.

Matt Moulson rocking the new jersey in NHL 14

By eliminating grey on the numbers and on the sleeves this jersey would really stand out and leave a lasting impression on fans and players, making the jersey go from awful to mediocre.  With all that being said, however, I do complement the Sabres organization for being different and trying something new because recently most teams (including Ottawa, Washington, and Boston) have used retro style sweaters as their alternates.  

Let us know what you think of the new jerseys below in the comments.  Thanks for reading!

NHL Stadium Series Jersey Rankings and Reviews

The NHL announced at the beginning of the season that there would be 4 additional outdoor games other than the annual Bridgestone Winter Classic called the NHL Stadium Series.  Each participating team released a special edition jersey that they would wear during the special outdoor event.  Some of these sweaters are eye-catching while others are rather unappealing.

Take a look at The Jersey Closet's rankings and reviews of the Stadium Series jerseys below:   


 7) Ducks

The Ducks introduced a very plain jersey (similar to their current away uniforms) that is very unappealing and simply boring.  The use of orange as the primary color scheme is interesting as this has never been used as a Ducks primary jersey color, but the lack of striping on the bottom of the jersey and the lack of a shoulder yoke forces Anaheim into the last place spot.  (Additional Reading: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=694190)  

6) Rangers

Just like all three of their current sweaters, the Rangers went with the downward diagonal font on their jerseys which was not surprising as that design is very historic within their franchise.  However, the jersey is very similar in color to the team's current away jersey and the striping on the arm sleeves also resembles those that are on the current away jersey.  For their lack of creativity, the Rangers fall into the number six spot.  (Additional: http://video.rangers.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=763&id=516761)

5) Penguins

Just like the Rangers, the Penguins failed innovation and creativity for their Stadium Series Jersey.  When I first got a glance at the uniform, I honesty thought they were the current penguins road sweaters.  Upon further observation, it is clear that there is different striping on the arms and a black shoulder yoke.  Although this jersey features interesting striping and piping, it looks almost like the penguins current road uniform.  This close similarity gives the Pens a spot at number five.  (Additional Reading: http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=695697)

4) Blackhawks

Just like their alternate jersey that got retired a few seasons earlier, the Hawks went with black as their primary color.  This jersey features the traditional Chicago striping and piping, in other words, nothing too special or different.  I do have to say, however, that the Blackhawks chrome logo is the best of all the teams as it really emphasizes the colors of the feathers.  This jersey falls in the middle of the pack at number four as it is not bad yet not great.  (Additional Reading: http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=696965)

3) Islanders

With the most drastic logo change out of all the teams, the Isles decided to simplify their current logo and only use the famous NY hockey stick.  The Isles also switched up this sweater by using white much more prominently and also added a white shoulder yoke.  This shoulder yoke and the four orange stripes (representing the four cups) on the hockey stick part of the logo really makes this jersey pop and catch the human eye.  The innovation and interesting change to the jersey compared to their normal home uniform puts the Islanders in the number three spot.  (Additional Reading: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=693360)

2) Devils

Also switching it up like the Islanders, the Devils reestablished green to their logo.  The team used this color scheme during the 80's and early 90's so unlike the other more futuristic Stadium Series jerseys, the Devils decided to go retro-style.  As you can see from the picture above, this was a great move as the classic looking striping pattern and shoulder yoke bring back a sense of the past and really exemplify the history of the organization.  With all that being said, however, the Devils fell short of first and take home second place.  (Additional Reading: http://www.nhluniforms.com/Blog/Blog.html)

1) Kings

There was uneasiness amongst Kings fans when the organization changed the Kings logo from the historic crown to the crest which prominently features "LA," but once they won the Stanley Cup that uneasiness pretty much vanished.  Despite all that, the Kings brought back the old logo for the Stadium Series and designed a pretty nice looking sweater to go along with it.  Instead of sticking with the teams normal primary colors of black or purple, LA decided to use gray.  They then complemented the gray with black and silver striping, including a black shoulder yoke.  Above all that, the chrome crown logo on the jersey features multiple shades of black, grey, and white creating much detail contributing to the jersey standing out tremendously.  The Kings therefore take home the number one spot.  (Additional Reading: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=694190)

That is our opinion.  If you feel otherwise or have any questions please comment below.


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