NHL Uniform Rundown 2K15

[johnnysama]

Has it really been four years since I did a thread like this? Well, a lot has changed in the NHL uniform scene, so here's my thoughts about what the teams are wearing.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION:

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Looks OK for me; it's nice that they turned up the orange on their new jerseys.

ARIZONA COYOTES: Still looks great, even with the slight name change for this season.

CALGARY FLAMES: Still irks me that they have the flag of Alberta and Canada; as I have said before, having the Alberta flag kinda slights Edmonton.

EDMONTON OILERS: They may be pretty bad right now, but their uniforms are one bright spot. Love that classic look!

LOS ANGELES KINGS: Love it! Although I think the hem striping on the white jersey is kinda unnecessary; either put on the black jersey or eliminate it altogether.

SAN JOSE SHARKS: Huge letdown. They now look like glorified practice jerseys, but I do think teal is an awesome color.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Still looks great to me.

CENTRAL DIVISION:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: I may hate them, but they've always had a solid look. Can't complain about that.

COLORADO AVALANCHE: It still looks like a hot mess.

DALLAS STARS: Love the new look; that shade of green (named VIctory Green) are pleasant on the eyes, and it meshes well with the black, which is now an accent color.

MINNESOTA WILD: Still looks OK. Although the roundel logo on the home jerseys should be put on the road jerseys to give them synergy.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: No complaints here. It's been a while since we've seen a gold jersey in the NHL (although in the 1980s, the Penguins, Canucks and Kings used gold jerseys as their 'white' ones).

ST. LOUIS BLUES: Solid look here. Looks kinda like their 1998-2007 uniform set in a few ways.

WINNIPEG JETS: Blue is a fave color of mine, and I like what they have.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

ATLANTIC DIVISION:
BOSTON BRUINS: Perfection.

BUFFALO SABRES: Their regular jersey are OK, but that third jersey is LOUD.

DETROIT RED WINGS: A timeless classic.

FLORIDA PANTHERS: They look alright to me, except the stripes on the sleeves don't go all the way around. That part kinda irks me.

MONTREAL CANADIENS: As timeless as you can get.

OTTAWA SENATORS: Still looks nice.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Looks too close to the Toronto Maple Leafs' design!

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Why change a good look?

METROPOLITAN DIVISION:

CAROLINA HURRICANES: Looks rather plain compared to the uniform it replaced. But it is a simple, yet effective uniform.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Nothing is wrong with this set.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: See above.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Just about as perfect as you can get; but their third jerseys are another story.

NEW YORK RANGERS: Solid.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: See above, again.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Their new third jersey is just great! Now if they can adopt that jersey fulltime and lose the Vegas Gold, they'd be set.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Not bad.

Still pretty much hit-or-miss with the current state of the NHL uniform scene.

[TorinK92]

Might as well give in my 2 cents

PACIFIC DIVISION:

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Improvement over their '06 sweaters, the striping and colours seem a bit odd to me for some reason, but it's a neat look.

ARIZONA COYOTES: Downgraded with the Edge takeover and have neglected to deal with it ever since. Hem stripes would improve the uniform, a rebrand would be better, a relocation would be best.

CALGARY FLAMES: Absolutely nothing right about their current look right now save the colours, simpler striping (i.e. no piping at least) and getting rid of the flags would be a big improvement.

EDMONTON OILERS: I like what they were doing with their throwbacks the season it first came out, but my favourite look for the Oilers has been and probably always will be their navy/copper sweaters. With their current template it'd be a great look

LOS ANGELES KINGS: Meh, I like it. The mismatched striping seems odd when you made the second sweater to look like the first but just added extra detail, and the arm piping should go IMO. I'm still pining for a return of purple sometime soon though.

SAN JOSE SHARKS: Unpopular opinion time: I thought their original edge sweaters were on par with their original look as the best they ever had, they just had to go and ruin that though. A fall from grace in the standings could spark a rebrand, which would be nice. Unless they decide to go stripe-less.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: I've never liked the orca in blue and grey, some green in it would be nice. The striping is starting to look a bit dated as well, I prefer the striping on the alternate; the stick-in-rink is perfect as a shoulder patch, but should probably stay up there; the "VANCOUVER" script should go as well.

CENTRAL DIVISION:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: It's pretty much a perfect look, I'm not as huge a fan of the white sweater as some people are, but they can't do all that much with it. I'd like to see an alternate based off of their black-and-white look from the 30's.

COLORADO AVALANCHE: I'll not speak of what they have now; but I think their perfect look would be their pre-edge sweaters with grey instead of black, straight hem striping, and blue pants, maybe a darker blue as well.

DALLAS STARS: Still really like what they came up with, but a bit of a shame with what they missed in the video that just came out.

MINNESOTA WILD: The white sweater is easily the best in the set, I'd like to see an overhaul on the red sweater, and I'd like to see the green sweater switch wheat for real white, switch the script for their real logo, and be promoted to the primary.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Like it a lot, without the piping the yellow sweater would be one of my favourites. I'd really like to see them be allowed to wear it against some teams wearing their home colours.

ST. LOUIS BLUES: No complaints, I can happily look past the little striping discrepancy.

WINNIPEG JETS: I really didn't like it when it came out, I thought there was so much wasted potential. But now I've grown to love them and they're up there as my favourite in Canada.

ATLANTIC DIVISION:
BOSTON BRUINS: Very nice, disappointing with the alternate sweater though. I'd like to see a yellow sweater (a la their winter classic version) come back as their alternate, with that same pipe dream of them being able to promote it to a road uniform and wear it against some other teams home colours.

BUFFALO SABRES: Not speaking of the super-slug jersey. I do really like the darker blue, but all the grey and the piping should go and it'd be a great classic uniform. They should come back with a lighter blue sweater as an alternate as well.

DETROIT RED WINGS: Pretty much the most timeless look in the league (Sorry Habs), don't even want them to get an alternate.

FLORIDA PANTHERS: I think that if hem stripes are added and the arm stripes went all the way around it'd be a good look, but a redesign is probably in order to reach the Panthers full potential.

MONTREAL CANADIENS: Home sweater is perfect, and one of the few main looks in the NHL that I wouldn't mind having laces. I'm not a big fan at all though of the white sweater, a return to the blue-stripe white uniform would make me really happy.

OTTAWA SENATORS: Edge garbage, looks alright on the ice but the Sens could do so much better. I'm a firm believer that the Sens should be in black, and I would love it if they went heritage look full time (sans vintage white) despite common opinion on this board. A red alternate to that set with laurel leaves in gold would make me really happy indeed.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: It's an alright look from a neutral position IMO, but it leaves a lot to be desired from the Lightning brand and it's too similar to the leafs. Their original set with a redesigned logo and more prominence on the light blue would be a great look. Even their current look with stripes of half white, half black would look good as well.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Interestingly enough, I'm that weird guy that likes their 70's and 80's look best, but I don't think they should be in any hurry to change their look. They're one of the best looking teams in the league, and the 67 jersey as an alternate works just fine.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION:

CAROLINA HURRICANES: Growing to like the new uniforms (again, only from a neutral position), but I think they made a mistake changing from their original brand.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: A rare team that improved with the Edge takeover, there's nothing really wrong with their current look, but some thicker red striping and a hem stripe like their pre-edge sweater would look great.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: A regular red/green alternate would be nice, but what they have is pretty much perfect for now.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Nice, solid, classic look. Their stadium series alternate is a bit disappointing compared to it. (I miss the black third )

NEW YORK RANGERS: Nice look again, nothing wrong with their alternate sweater as well, but I wouldn't mind it being relegated to being worn only half a dozen times per year or less.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Coloured nameplates. Other than that it looks pretty good, another solid and classic look.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Their new alternate makes me want to see them in black and yellow again, but a more modern striping pattern would be a welcome change. (shameless plug)

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Need a change, didn't mind it when they came out, but it's starting to look a bit dated. A return to their pre-edge identity would be perfect IMHO (shameless plug x2, ignore the alternate)

I think the central is my favourite division, with the Atlantic the division having the most potential.

[VikWings]

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION:

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Upgrade on the previous set, but that's not saying much, because they were the worst in the league. Mighty Ducks were perfection. I'd even settle for those unis in the current colors. Duck mask needs to at least be on an alt or something.

ARIZONA COYOTES: Meh. Need waist stripes. Miss the picasso look.

CALGARY FLAMES: Atrocious. Piping mess and stupid Canada/Alberta patches. Pre-edge look was solid enough. Classic look (aka old 3rds) were perfection.

EDMONTON OILERS: Beautiful.

LOS ANGELES KINGS: Add a waist stripe to the home. Replace homeplate with either crown or chevy logo.

SAN JOSE SHARKS: Teal really pops now but looks like practice jerseys. All they needed to do was lose the yokes and the orange. But you know, yokes and waist stripes make the players slower.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: All they need to do is drop the "Vancouver."

CENTRAL DIVISION:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: Almost everyone's favorite uniforms. Not mine, but still top 5. Whites are beauts.

COLORADO AVALANCHE: Atrocious. worst unis in the league.

DALLAS STARS: They're nice. But the logo sucks and they shoulda kept gold. They need to add black outlines to numbers too.

MINNESOTA WILD: ALT and Roads are perfect. Home isn't aging well.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Lose the piping.

ST. LOUIS BLUES: Huge upgrade. Great look.

WINNIPEG JETS: I like em. Not a huge fan of the logo though.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

ATLANTIC DIVISION:
BOSTON BRUINS: Not as high on the Bruins as everyone else. Prefer the 90s set.

BUFFALO SABRES: Lose the grey piping and pit stains. Shoot the 3rds into outer space.

DETROIT RED WINGS: Perfection. Whites are my favorite unis in sports.

FLORIDA PANTHERS: Meh.

MONTREAL CANADIENS: Another timeless O6 team. Would like to see a blue stripe on the roads though.

OTTAWA SENATORS: Horrible. Bottom 3 jersey. Need a complete overhaul and return to 2-D logo.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: In a vacuum they're nice, but, Tampa Bay Maple Wings.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Great looking uniform. Miss the 64-bit leaf white alts though.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION:

CAROLINA HURRICANES: If Tampa is the Maple Wings, they're the Red Leafs. Home and Road are 2 different jerseys. Why they ever dropped the warning flag stripes is beyond me.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Nice, but could use a waist stripe. I'd replace the powder blue with red on the alts.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Top 5 jerseys.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: See above. Thank God black Alts are in the dumpster now.

NEW YORK RANGERS: No complaints about home and road. Miss Lady Liberty 3rds though.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: See above, but they shoulda brought back a black jersey for a 3rd instead of WC jersey.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Their new third jersey is just great! Now if they can adopt that jersey fulltime and lose the Vegas Gold, they'd be set. (Didn't even change OP's comment.)

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: WEagle should be the main logo.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION:

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Big improvement. I much prefer the new template and the fact that they actually put a LOGO on the front is great. A word-mark has no place being the primary logo on the primary set of unis. Extra points for the shoulder patch.

ARIZONA COYOTES: Still a solid look, but would prefer a return of the hem stripe. I think adding black trim would work wonders.

CALGARY FLAMES: Hate them. I used to clamor for a return to the original set, but i can live with them being 3rds so hopefully they bring them back. I've fallen in love with the current 3rd however. Throw the flaming C on the front and make a full set.

EDMONTON OILERS: Never change again.

LOS ANGELES KINGS: I much prefer the Kings with purple in their scheme, but I can live with this. I'd prefer just a crown as the logo as opposed to the 'royal banner'. Add a hem stripe to the black as well.

SAN JOSE SHARKS: Modernize the original set. Bring back silver and never touch it again.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: I'm with the minority that likes the Orca, but the city name is unnecessary. The colors are winners. Keep them.

CENTRAL DIVISION:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: Arguably the best overall look in the league, if not all of sports.

COLORADO AVALANCHE: Terrible. Edgify the original set.

DALLAS STARS: Watched them in HD last week for the first time since the switch. Absolutely beautiful. They hit a home run with this rebrand.

MINNESOTA WILD: Solid set overall but the red jersey has grown a bit old IMO. The bear head logo is too good to not be put in full size on the home. Roundel isn't necessary anymore.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Not a fan of the apron striping, but overall I'm ok with them.

ST. LOUIS BLUES: Went from bottom 5 to top 7. Beautiful.

WINNIPEG JETS: These have grown on me big time. The striping on the arms reminds me of the striping on a WW2-era fighter.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

ATLANTIC DIVISION:
BOSTON BRUINS: Hate the team, but jerseys are gorgeous.

BUFFALO SABRES: Glad they went back to the old school look, but I'd like the blue lightened up a bit. No words needed for that third.

DETROIT RED WINGS:CLASSIC.

FLORIDA PANTHERS: Fix the arm stripes, or better yet go back to the 90's set. Jump to top 10 instantly.

MONTREAL CANADIENS: CLASSIC.

OTTAWA SENATORS: Tied for worst in the league, but one of my favorite thirds. Make a full set based on that alt and you've got a great set.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Not bad, but no originality. That third on the other hand is just terrible.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: After a bit of tinkering the past decade or so, they've landed on a classic O6 look.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION:

CAROLINA HURRICANES: Not bad, but they had a great, unique set and switched to this plain, uninspired set.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: No real complaints.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: In a world where uniforms are constantly changing, the Devils set has stood the test of time.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Fantastic. I don't hate the third, but I don't love it either.

NEW YORK RANGERS: Classic.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: A few things that irk me, but it screams Philadelphia Flyers, and for it's uniqueness and nod to the glory days, it's great.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Like the Sens, worst in the NHL, but one of the best thirds. I absolutely love that 90s uni and would love a full set made from it.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: They've grown a bit old it seems, but still middle of the pack.

[BrianLion]

I'll order them this way:

In dire need of hem striping: Sharks, Coyotes, Hurricanes, Avanlanche

Need consistency between home and road looks: Wild, Hurricanes

Lose the apron strings: Avalanche, Kings, Predators

Fix your arm striping/patches: Panthers, Kings, Capitals, Flames, Jets

Lose your third jersey: Sabres, Lightning, Islanders

Use your third jersey (full time): Penguins, Capitals, Wild

Nuke them from space: Senators, Penguins, Avalanche

[sportstar1212]

Ducks: Pretty solid set. I wouldn't mind seeing them introduce an orange alt with the Mighty Ducks logo on the front.

Coyotes: Booooorrrring! Seriously, bring back the original jersey striping.

Bruins: Nearly perfect. The only changes I'd make would be to go with one outline on the name and numbers, and make an yellow third.

Sabres: It'd be nice if they wore the actual retros instead of those bastardized versions. And please, for the love of god, get rid of that third jersey!

Flames: Retros, please.

Hurricanes: Not terrible, but I wish they still had the storm flag striping.

Blackhawks: Perfect. Best in the league.

Avalanche: Just plain terrible. Change to some sort of mountain striping, and replace the black with navy.

Blue Jackets: Can't complain. Not sure how I feel about the third jersey, though.

Stars: Beautiful. I kinda miss the gold and would prefer to see outlines on the numbers, but it still looks great nonetheless.

Red Wings: Perfect. A close second to the Blackhawks.

Oilers: If only the team looked as good as the jerseys. An orange third from their WHA days would be cool.

Panthers: Keep the yoke at the shoulders (as opposed to going completely down the arm) and make the arm stripes go all the way around.

Kings: Put hem stripes on the black jersey and make the numbers silver outlined in white.

Wild: Make the green jersey the home and make it resemble the road jersey better (no phantom yoke, and include number outlines and shoulder patches).

Canadiens: Very nice. Add the 40's white jersey as an alt.

Predators: Get rid of the apron piping, and make the yellow the road with a blue home.

Devils: Perfect, though I'd like to see the retros worn more than once a year.

Islanders: Very good. Maybe get an orange alt.

Rangers: Fantastic. Change the road jersey wordmark to the "New York" one and bring back Lady Liberty as a third.

Sens: Needs changing ASAP.

Flyers: Perfect.

Penguins: Change to athletic gold, but I'd like to see something different from the retro jerseys.

Sharks: Lame. Bring back the original template with the current marks on it.

Blues: Very good.

Lightning: Nice, but boring. Use some black.

Leafs: Good as is.

Canucks: The orca has run its course. Change to either the stick in rink of Johnny Canuck.

Capitals: I like them a lot, actually. Modern done right.

Jets: Change the arm yoke on the white jersey to a shoulder yoke, and repeat the arm stripes on the hem.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Canucks: The orca has run its course. Change to either the stick in rink of Johnny Canuck.

That's the problem with the Canucks though. They take logos or color schemes that quickly run their course. The Orca is probably the lesser of all evils, and actually has some depth and representation of the region, as opposed to a lame stick in a rink that's supposedly a C, or some flying skate that looks like the logo of a gas station in the 80's.

With that said, I wouldn't be disappointed with Johnny Canuck either, but I just want the Nucks to stick with something.