Worst color scheme in the NHL?

[Sport]

You forgot the Rangers.

I love everything about the Blue Jackets uniforms and logo package. So.........

Dammit I did.

Regardless, the Blue Jackets are basically trying to look like the Patriots on ice, and without the dark contrasting surroundings typically providing the backdrop in football games, nothing stands out. The Lightning have the same problem, as do the Ducks or any other hockey team that is dark. There's no better sport than hockey to wear bright colors, IMHO, and because the Blue Jackets are pretty much navy/white with a splash of red, I don't feel like they're pronounced enough on the ice to make me say, "They may not be the most fun to watch play, but they at least look decent." I think even some Jackets fans could agree that there's so much potential behind their brand that what they currently have is intensely underwhelming.

Obviously you're a huge fan of their look, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I get ranty sometimes and now you probably think I'm a dick. That's alright, too.

I get ranty too so I don't think you're a dick at all. The comments about the "roster full of the dregs of the league" and "vagabond roster of NHL nothingness" feel out of line in a thread about color scheme. Especially odd considering I could've used those exact words to describe the Chicago Blackhawks less than 6 years ago.

Blue Jackets would've been about the last name I would've chosen to brand my hockey team with, and I think they really whiffed on their first try, but they knocked it out of the park with the C star logo and the secondary cap logo. I think they've done about as good a job as they could with the name Blue Jackets. The primary represents the city well and the secondary drives home the team nickname. I haven't liked many attempts that have jumped head first into using civil war imagery like soldiers or cannons. Even my own efforts have come up short and I'm a guy who tends to fall in love with my own work.

I did like Fraser's SB nation logo http://www.jacketscannon.com/

I like Columbus's logo. Ohio is one of the few unique state flags out there. However, the similarities to the Patriots in NOBs, numbers, and swooshy stripey logo thing, now cannot be unseen.

The Ohio flag is pretty cool, but by having it swoop around a hokey warped star it feels like one of the lame "Create-a-Team" logos leftover in NHL 09.

I think they're one of the few teams that could actually get away with a roundel if they utilized more of the Civil War influence. Their alternate's got a decent crest, cool numerals, and a much more unique shade of blue, but naturally they neuter that inventiveness by adding the light blue that trended throughout the league like a staph infection. Plus those sweaters basically look like the Jets' now, which isn't a compliment to either team.

The flag is wrapped around the star to form a C. I hope I didn't need to explain that to you.

I also want to point out that the royal blue and navy third uniforms came before the Jets decided to use the exact same colors for their everyday uniforms. I wouldn't hate it if they changed the royal blue stripes on the thirds to a burgundy and beat Colorado to navy blue and burgundy.

I would be content if they never change their uniforms again. I hope the current set is still the uniform when we win the Stanley Cup in 2016.

[wildwing64]

As much as they are yet another blue, red and white team, I'm also fine with the Blue Jackets. I mean, with a patriotic Cival War themed identity like that, there's not a whole lot else you can really do with them.

Random thought here, but part of me thinks the Blue Jackets are the very reason we might not be seeing a blue Caps jersey anytime soon.

[CS85]

I get ranty too so I don't think you're a dick at all. The comments about the "roster full of the dregs of the league" and "vagabond roster of NHL nothingness" feel out of line in a thread about color scheme. Especially odd considering I could've used those exact words to describe the Chicago Blackhawks less than 6 years ago.

Blue Jackets would've been about the last name I would've chosen to brand my hockey team with, and I think they really whiffed on their first try, but they knocked it out of the park with the C star logo and the secondary cap logo. I think they've done about as good a job as they could with the name Blue Jackets. The primary represents the city well and the secondary drives home the team nickname. I haven't liked many attempts that have jumped head first into using civil war imagery soldiers or cannons.

The flag is wrapped around the star to form a C. I hope I didn't need to explain that to you.

I also want to point out that the royal blue and navy third uniforms came before the Jets decided to use the exact same colors for their everyday uniforms. I wouldn't hate it if they changed the royal blue stripes on the thirds to a burgundy and beat Colorado to navy blue and burgundy.

I would be content if they never change their uniforms again. I hope these are still the uniforms when we win the Stanley Cup in 2016.

Re: 'dregs' - I wanted to emphasize that I felt like their problems on the ice are a reflection of the lack of a commitment to an effective brand. I actually don't hold any hostilities toward the Blue Jackets. I like their team name and basis for it, i just think it's half-baked.

Re: blackhawks - 6 years ago I would agree with you. I think you know by now that there's nobody more irrationally critical of teams they supposedly love than yours truly.

Re: flag/c logo - Yeah I obviously grasped it was forming a "C," but I re-emphasize that it's a bad logo, IMHO. "IMHO" being the entire basis of this thread.

Re: thirds - It is bad luck that the Jets harvested that color scheme, but what's done is done. Navy and burgundy would be a pretty dark combo, I feel. I'd rather them do something a bit more desaturated, but that's just me.

[BigBubba]

The Ducks' colour scheme isn't bad so much as it is terribly executed. However, I do agree that a more Quad City Mallards palette would work better. There really aren't any horrible colour schemes currently in the league, though I'm really not fond of Pittsburgh's current shade of Vegas gold.

Also, count me in as one who really likes the Blue Jackets logo.

[monkeypower]

But nostalgia. And jersey sales!

Jumping on the Ducks to green bandwagon. Forest Green, Blaze Orange, and Metallic Copper would have been phenomenal. Instead, Burke gently caressed them up.

Like this?

Thread jacking and shameless promotion like a boss

[TruColor]

Personally, I think the old Blue Jackets color scheme may have been the worst...

...however, the original proposed Blue Jackets color palette - complete with Slate Blue as the primary Blue, along with a different shade of Red - may have been worse:

[wildwing64]

Like this?

Or this:

[BrianLion]

I loathe the black in the Flames uniforms. There I said it. Every time I see them in their thirds, like last night, it hammers home how much the primary's just suck.

[nicktharipper]

Meanwhile the Minnesota Wild have a fairly good color scheme and not found almost anywhere in sports.

To stick with the color argument, it's not fair to say "well those are christmas colors, so they suck." There's no other team in the league that uses those colors, and that right there is the first sign you're doing something right in branding your franchise (unless your colors are periwinkle and other pastels, in which case you should be fired immediately).

So you can just arbitrarily select colors that you don't like as 'wrong'? That's fair. The Wild have an awful color scheme that looks blah, no matter (actually, increasingly awful with) how they mangle their uniform sets.

[CS85]

So you can just arbitrarily select colors that you don't like as 'wrong'? That's fair. The Wild have an awful color scheme that looks blah, no matter (actually, increasingly awful with) how they mangle their uniform sets.

If team colors could be objectively classed as right and wrong, this site wouldn't have much to discuss.

I like your use of italics, though.

[VancouverFan69]

Also, I'm not a fan of their purple and yellow throwbacks. Way too garish.

Totally disagree. Purple and gold are perfect for a team called the Kings. They add distinctive and simple variety to the NHL team colour chart. Two seasons ago, I was fortunate enough to see the Canucks in action against the Kings in those original classics. The mid 90s St.Louis Blues unis are an example of garish.

[VancouverFan69]

I'm really surprised no one else thinks that Colorado's colors (while good on a color deck in a design studio) are poorly translated to a TV screen. I really don't think it does their jerseys justice.

I totally agree here. I always felt that the Avs dropped the ball by going with lacrosse-style uniforms than a true hockey set. The burgundy looks great and the A-mountain crest is a classic, but I would have gone with just a clean all-burgundy look with a lighter shade of blue and absolutely NO black. Kind of like MLS's Colorado Rapids.

[Morgan33]

Doesn't happen often but I wholeheartedly agree with CS85 about the Blue Jackets colour scheme. It's not just that they're another RWB team but more in the way the colours are used. The Home jersey is almost entirely navy with micro-thin red and white piping serving as the only point of interest beyond the crest. I know they're the Blue Jackets but would it have killed them to use a different colour for the shoulder yoke? Navy might be the most played out colour in the NHL and making a jersey almost entirely that colour is the definition of dull.

[CS85]

Doesn't happen often but I wholeheartedly agree with CS85

...about the Blue Jackets colour scheme

[hockey week]

I agree with all points on the Blue Jackets, but I'll say it...

It's the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Yes, they've gone all blue and white, and that works for the Leafs, but really, they're not. They're still blue and black, and their jerseys will reflect that eventually. The two colors are far too dark to be together, as evidenced here:

Where does the blue end and the black begin? If I wasn't such a uni-nut, I'd have no idea. Yeah, there's silver, and because of that, the BOLTS alternates aren't that bad, but it's a tertiary color, and rarely used. The only saving grace in this scheme is marginalized, to the team's detriment. In fact, the only time you can distinguish the blue and black is on the pants, and only because white or silver separates the colors. Otherwise, they blend together and it's awful. Light color and a dark color! Or two light colors if you have to! But never two dark!

Say what you will about their current jerseys or logos, but this isn't about their jerseys or logos, it's color scheme only, and their primary colors have far too little contrast to be effective. The Kings were right behind this with Purple/Black, but they used silver well, and now Purple is out, so the Bolts stand alone on this issue.

[CS85]

What sucks about tampa is that their new logo set is actually pretty awesome and the idea of an electric blue is a great look for them.

Unfortunately it's just too dark.

You see pictures like this:

...and think "wow, those really glow out there, great color!" But when you turn on the TV, you see this:

[habsfan1]

But wait, the Lightning have never gotten rid of black completely. The current set has a black trim around the numbers and the pants bolt.

Black lives!

[Tygers09]

Tampa Bay's original color scheme of black, white & blue didn't do anything for me. Black/red, black/gold, black/orange, black/silver are pretty common color combinations but black and blue? Come on..

Atlanta is a very close second, no wonder why the team folded.

Colorado, Anaheim (both color schemes), Minnesota, are unique in their own way.

Pittsburgh... changing from the yellow gold to the old gold lost my vote...

Vancouver.. thank god they ditched the black/gold/red. Navy/blue/silver and dark red were really cool. Blue/Green current colors are ok but IMHO they took a step back with that one.

Dallas.. Black as base is cool, but use the dark green and their unis look horrible.. Should've stayed with the kelly green/yellow gold/black when they were in Minnesota.

[vman]

IMHO it's far and away the Panthers. The darkened primary colour look just seems so drab, especially for a team from Florida. It was dated before they ever hit the ice, and hasn't gotten any better along the way.

Second worst would have to be the Ducks. All they have to do is drop either the gold or orange and they'll have a good scheme, but right now it just look laughably ridiculous.

The Sharks have to ditch the orange as well. They could very well have the best set in the league if they'd simply go back to the gray. The orange buts them firmly on the negative side of the spectrum.

[dbadefense1990]

The Kings.

There's nothing really exciting about a black, silver, and white color scheme. Dropping the purple downgraded their uniform and color scheme big time.

Hmm...purple (without the de facto gold compliment color) matched well for the Kings when the crest was their primary:

But management was stupid enough to drop the crest and make the crown the primary:

When they did that, it effectively killed purple as a stand-alone color scheme for the Kings. Looking back, it was fugly looking at it in those 2010 and 2011 playoff teasers. Glad purple was dropped from the team's colors.