SI Players Poll in the new issue

[pheer]

I'm surprised at the Thrashers being in the bottom 5. Definitely shouldn't be in the top 5, but somewhere in the middle seems about right.

I love my home blue jersey.

[Chazberg]

Look at that, top 5 are all orginal 6 teams and basically were never touched, while the worst are all "newer" style jersys minus NYI.

So my guess is the new Reebok swift jerseys will really turn up some noses of players. Their reactions will be broadcast and may lead to some re-redesigning.

Not necessarily, cuz I don't think they're gonna change much. So far all we know for sure is that the Caps, Bruins, Wild, Canucks, Blue Jackets, and Stars are making modifications, and most of these should be vintage-driven or conservative changes. I don't think RBK will touch the other traditional teams. They've already done tons of player testing and made modifications, and I'm guessing they've gotten input on the designs as well. I'm looking forward to seeing these.

One of the only things I'm worried about is that Thrashers home sweater; I don't know if they'll be able to use the same sweet-ass double fabric with the navy blue under the powder blue mesh. That's one of the most wicked features of that sweater.

[JStamper]

What about Nucks 3rd

Let's face it, when people think Canucks jersey, they still shriek in horror and remember this:

Give us another decade to purge this from our memory, and we'll embrace the real color scheme and nifty logo of that franchise.

For what it's worth, the ugliest jersey I can ever remember is this:

What does it say about the wisdom of a league, when they dress the greatest player in their sports history in that atrocity?

I don't know if you planned this or not, but you have two of the all time greats sporting 2 of the worst unis of all time.....Isn't that the great Cam Neely in the ugly Canucks unis, in his pre Bruins glory years???

[Snazel]

The Blues have had one bleh set in their history. And that really doesn't matter anyways as this is about current uniform sets

You are kidding me right?

I've always liked the Blues, mainly because they helped create Scott Bowman, the greatest genius hockey has ever known. But lets face it, while their jerseys look fine now, they have had some real eye-bleeders in their history.

I do think that played a small part, I think its interesting that most of the top 5 teams listed, hardly ever changed their uniforms at all. I think this had a small factor.

[SteveR]

I think Nashville's mustard thirds skewed the vote there. There regular threads -- especially the white -- are quite OK, thank you.

[Snazel]

I think Nashville's mustard thirds skewed the vote there

*nod*

Diaper-brown just isn't a good look for any grown man.

[tomhunter8]

i thinks its rather obvious that the lighting have the worst set in the NHL... hands down.

their logo is amatuerish at best.

Agreed 100%.

[spyboy1]

I think the Islanders & Predators 3rd jerseys doomed them to the bottom, as did the Thrashers baby/powder blue asymetrical city-name-down-the-sleeve nonsense. This is a poll of the players, and they clearly perfer to be dressed as manly men.

That means classic, tradtional hockey sweaters, not modern cutting edge risk taking dumbass jerseys. Like The Slug and the ones listed above.

And you know what? They're right.

They may know nothing about fashion design and what will sell to the masses, but know what they like when they see it.

And what looks and is wrong when they're forced to wear it against their wishes.

[Neon_Matrix]

I think the Islanders & Predators 3rd jerseys doomed them to the bottom, as did the Thrashers baby/powder blue asymetrical city-name-down-the-sleeve nonsense. This is a poll of the players, and they clearly perfer to be dressed as manly men.

That means classic, tradtional hockey sweaters, not modern cutting edge risk taking dumbass jerseys. Like The Slug and the ones listed above.

And you know what? They're right.

They may know nothing about fashion design and what will sell to the masses, but know what they like when they see it.

And what looks and is wrong when they're forced to wear it against their wishes.

I'd love to see how many players put their own team as one of the bottom 5...

[STL FANATIC]

The Blues have had one bleh set in their history. And that really doesn't matter anyways as this is about current uniform sets

You are kidding me right?

I've always liked the Blues, mainly because they helped create Scott Bowman, the greatest genius hockey has ever known. But lets face it, while their jerseys look fine now, they have had some real eye-bleeders in their history.

I do think that played a small part, I think its interesting that most of the top 5 teams listed, hardly ever changed their uniforms at all. I think this had a small factor.

There's actually only one bad set there...

The diagonal stripes are one set, and they're bleh.

The others are rather nice...

[Shylockthejew]

The Blues have had one bleh set in their history. And that really doesn't matter anyways as this is about current uniform sets

You are kidding me right?

I've always liked the Blues, mainly because they helped create Scott Bowman, the greatest genius hockey has ever known. But lets face it, while their jerseys look fine now, they have had some real eye-bleeders in their history.

I do think that played a small part, I think its interesting that most of the top 5 teams listed, hardly ever changed their uniforms at all. I think this had a small factor.

There's actually only one bad set there...

The diagonal stripes are one set, and they're bleh.

The others are rather nice...

I'd say the top and bottom sets are bleh, and the middle one is OK. You are a homer, aren't you?

[hecticbro]

The diagonal stripes set isn't bad at all.

[Milo Meningocele]

Here's a Detroiter backing up STL Fanatic's position:

Forget about questionable past sets, this poll is about currents. And right now IMO there's no way the Bluenotes aren't one of the top 3 best dressed NHL teams, let alone top 5.

[STL FANATIC]

There's actually only one bad set there...

The diagonal stripes are one set, and they're bleh.

The others are rather nice...

I'd say the top and bottom sets are bleh, and the middle one is OK. You are a homer, aren't you?

Yes, but that doesn't come into play here.

The diagonal stripes are very bleh. The bottom one isn't great, but it's not ugly.

I really think you have to try hard to say the Blues have had a history of ugly designs, when really they've had just one that was very bad.

[spyboy1]

The Blues have had one bleh set in their history. And that really doesn't matter anyways as this is about current uniform sets

You are kidding me right?

I'd say the top and bottom sets are bleh, and the middle one is OK. You are a homer, aren't you?

The bottom one, still pictured, is "bleh"?

I'll show YOU how cool that set is. Try THIS on for size!

Look how happy they are! What other jersey can give people so much joy?

[shrapnell]

Sorry, but I always thought that Kings jersey Gretzky is wearing earlier in this thread was one of the coolest ever put out.

And if it wasn't for those snot yellow Preds' alternates, I'd have put them near the top too!

Blackhawks are still the best, but what an embarassment to the league as a franchise!

Believe it or not, I always liked those wacko V Canuck jerseys too!

Habs and Leafs, got so tired of playing table top hockey as a kid with only Montreal and Toronto Teams available, don't care if they never make a top 5 list ever!

Oh for the days of the California Golden Seals!!! White skates!!!

[Gothamite]

Do you get some kind of bulk discount on those exclamation points?

I love that wedding picture. Very clever.

[firestorm]

The list seems to confirm what everyone outside the marketing offices of the NHL and RBK already knows: simple and traditional is the way to go. I think the Bruins would make the list too if they'd stick with the vintage set they use as thirds this season.

As for the Isles, I have to think that orange abortion of a third jersey keeps them doomed to the worst list. Give me their late-70s/early 80s look any day.

[IceCap]

Sorry, but I always thought that Kings jersey Gretzky is wearing earlier in this thread was one of the coolest ever put out.

And if it wasn't for those snot yellow Preds' alternates, I'd have put them near the top too!

Blackhawks are still the best, but what an embarassment to the league as a franchise!

Believe it or not, I always liked those wacko V Canuck jerseys too!

Habs and Leafs, got so tired of playing table top hockey as a kid with only Montreal and Toronto Teams available, don't care if they never make a top 5 list ever!

Oh for the days of the California Golden Seals!!! White skates!!!

That Kings jersey sucks. It's gaudy.

The Predators have an ok home and road set, and a hideous alternate. Even without the alternate the Preds are middle of the pack. Not top 5 material at all.

Yes, the Blackhawks suck. That doesn't have anything to do with the topic.

The Vancouver "V" jerseys, those were true embarrassments to the NHL.

The Habs wear hockey's version of the Yankees' pinstripes. They wear classic uniforms and use a classic logo that not only identifies the team, but the sport as a whole. A "Top 5 uniforms in the NHL list" simply isn't complete without the Montréal Canadiens.

The Leafs have potential to recapture the beauty of their classic uniforms. As they stand now they have a few inconsistencies that hold them back. The current Leafs uniforms may not be top 5 material, but with a few tweaks they could be. Even if they're left as they are they're still near the top of the league uniform-wise.

The California Golden Seals (white skates included) looked like skating clowns, not a hockey team.

[whalersjets]

Why do I like that jersey?