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Best/Worst NHL Jerseys (Write-Off)May 22 '01 (Updated Mar 22 '06) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line If you ever get the chance to attend a live hockey game...go! This is definitely the coolest game on Earth! The following is part of a write-off in honor of the 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs, hosted by leafsbabe01. The objective is to name the best five jerseys of the 2000-2001 season, the worst of the 2000-2001 season, the best five jerseys of all-time and the worst jerseys of all-time. This is meant to be a fun write-off, so relax and have fun! The write-off is being placed under this category because it is the only hockey category. Best NHL Jerseys of 2000-2001 When I first began compiling my lists for this write-off and was trying to decide which jerseys I loved the most, the first thought that occurred to me was, "It depends on who is wearing it". The top 10 or so jerseys would belong to Red Wings players and then after those 10: Avalanche jersey #19 (Joe Sakic), Capitals jersey #19 (Brendan Witt), Stars jersey # 9 (Mike Modano), Capitals jersey #12 (Peter Bondra)…..my list could go on and on because there are so many fantastic (and gorgeous) men in the NHL. Upon thinking further about this list, I don’t think this is what leafsbabe01 had in mind when she created this write-off. So I guess I had better get serious and tell you who I thought the five best jerseys for 2000-2001 are. I must include a disclaimer here: I would not be caught dead in anything but a Red Wings jersey! For those who know me, you know I am a die-hard Wings fan and own many Wings jerseys, several of which bore #19-Steve Yzerman across the back. The Wings do not make my top five list for this season, however, because there are some great new jerseys out there. The Wings, as well as many of the other older teams, need to update their jerseys to compete with the newer teams! Anyway, here goes…. #5 Best Jersey goes to the Minnesota Wild. This is a brand new expansion team who just finished their first NHL season. Their home jersey is white with green and red trim with a strip of metallic gold. The logo is an animal head (cat? Bear?) with fangs; this is a dark green color, with red trees and a yellow moon within the head. This is really a neat looking jersey and has a very modern and colorful look to it. I really wish Epinions would allow us to add pictures to our reviews like other sites do, so you could see what I am talking about. #4 Best Jersey goes to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks who began their NHL franchise in the 1993-1994 season. This jersey is very popular and most people know this design, even if they don’t know much about hockey. What makes this jersey stand out is the vibrant purple and green colors, and the hockey mask with the double crossed hockey sticks behind it. Their home and road jerseys look great, but I prefer the road jersey because of the bright colors (the road jersey is mostly purple, trimmed in green). #3 Best Jersey goes to the Nashville Predators, also a very new team. They began their first NHL season in 1998-1999. The "Predator" logo is a silver, sleek, mechanical-looking animal with its ears laid back and long, sharp fangs. The uniforms are trimmed in yellow and black. Both their home and road jerseys are great because the logo is the eye-catcher, but I do prefer the dark road jersey because it makes the "Predator" look even more dangerous. #2 Best Jersey is the Atlanta Thrashers who joined the NHL in the 1999-2000 season. This is a really cool looking jersey! The "Thrasher" is Georgia’s state bird and is the logo for these jerseys. This logo is of a thrasher’s head with a wing wrapped around creating a sense of movement. I really don’t know a better way to describe it, but it is very unique. This jersey is also very colorful, using copper, bronze, gold, midnight blue and ice blue. And the #1 Best Jersey for the year 2000-2001 is… (insert drum roll here)…is the Calgary Flames (road jersey). The Flames joined the NHL in the 1980-1981 season after being moved from Atlanta. Truthfully, I really don’t know much about the Flames as a team, but their original jerseys had a big "C" with flames coming off of it. This is the first season that I have seen the new road jersey and I did a double-take when I saw it. It is incredible! This jersey is black; about half-way down the arms it turns red and has a bright yellow stripe. The animal’s head logo is bright yellow with red flames coming out of the nose. Around the neck there is red and yellow stripes, and on the shoulder is a small flaming "C" (the original logo). This is a very colorful jersey, definitely the best I have seen. If you haven’t seen this jersey yet, you should check it out at www.nhl.com. Those are the five best jerseys in my opinion. I know that some people will be disappointed that none of the original six NHL hockey teams were included, but these newer teams have gone all out on their jerseys. The older teams have tradition, but most of them are also wearing jerseys that were created 50 to 75 years ago and they didn’t have the modern technology to create cool logos and vibrant colors. A lot of people are resistant to change and would probably be upset if teams like the Red Wings or Bruins changed their jerseys too much, but I think they need to get themselves into the new millennium and compete with the newer teams’ jerseys! That being said, on to the worst jerseys of this season…. Worst NHL Jerseys of 2000-2001 The #5 Worst Jersey is the Oilers. The Oilers’ colors are orange and blue. The logo is just the word "Oilers" in a circle with a "drip" at the top of the circle. There is really nothing bad about the logo, it’s just boring and has been around for years. They need to contact the Thrashers or Predators to see who designed their logos and then hire them to do something for the Oilers logo. The #4 Worst Jersey is the New York Islanders for much the same reason I listed the Oilers as #2. Their jerseys are also blue and orange with the NY Islanders printed inside of a circle. The only original part of the design is that the "Y" forms a hockey stick at the end. It’s not exactly ugly, just very plain and in need of an update. The #3 Worst Jersey of this season is the L.A. Kings who have been members of the NHL since 1967. Although the Kings have updated their jerseys for the better, the numbers on them are terrible. The number "one" on their jerseys look like the number "seven". During the playoffs the referees were getting confused when calling penalties because they couldn’t read the numbers. In one game a referee called number "77" (seventy-seven) for a penalty, when it was actually number "11" (eleven) who should have been called. The #2 Worst Jersey goes to the New York Rangers (sorry roynyr). The reason I have included the Rangers is that they are still using the boring jerseys that have "RANGERS" spelled down the front of them, when they have the beautiful alternate jerseys with the Statue of Liberty logo on them. The "Lady Liberty" jerseys are so much more attractive, so I don’t understand why they don’t burn the old ones! The #1 Worst Jersey is the Boston Bruins, all of them! The plain ones with the yellow "B". The "B" is for "Boring". Sorry Boston fans, these are unappealing. The Bruins do have another jersey with an actual bruin on them, but the color of those road jerseys is blinding! I always feel like I need to put my shades on when watching them on television. These jerseys really need to be updated! The next part of the write-off was supposed to be a list of the best five jerseys of all time and the worst five of all time. Best Jerseys of All-Time and/or Most Improved I really got stuck on this part, because I think that five of the best jerseys of all-time are many of the same that I listed for this season’s best five. So, I altered my list a little. There were really only three jerseys that I think stand out that were not included in my first "top five" list, so the other two are jerseys that I think are the most improved jerseys. #5 the L.A. Kings is a "most improved" jersey. Even though I added them to my "worst" list for this season because of the number confusion, their jerseys have come a long way. In the 1970’s, the Kings jerseys were blue with yellow trim, and had a yellow crown on the front of the jersey. From there they changed to the black jersey with the silver "Kings" emblem (like the "Great One" wore). The newer "Coat of Arms" logo is much more attractive, they just need to change those numbers! The #4 jersey is also a "most improved" jersey and that is the Buffalo Sabres. This is a huge improvement! The original jerseys were blue and yellow and the logo was a circle with a buffalo and two crossed swords. The new jerseys are wicked cool. Not only did they change the logo, but they changed the team colors, too. The road jersey is black with red and white trim. It has the buffalo head bowed down with horns ready for battle. There is a bright red "B" on the shoulder with a sword going through it. The home jersey is white with the same design. I am not a big Buffalo fan, but I do think these jerseys look great. Just goes to show that a team can change their logo after 30 years! The #3 jersey is a top five jersey, but before I tell you who it is, you have to promise not to tell anyone I said this. If you tell, I will deny it I ever said it. It is killing me to include them in this list, but the #3 jersey would be the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs jersey is maroon and blue with a big "A" on the front with a snow-swirl around it. The jersey is attractive, but not spectacular, I just picked this through the process of elimination. I have always liked the design, even though I don’t like team too much (Joe Sakic is the only redeeming quality of the team! Sorry Avs fans!) The #2 Best Jersey overall is the Phoenix Coyotes, especially the road jersey. The logo for the Coyotes jersey is, of course, a coyote, but he is standing up-right and is holding a hockey stick. It is a very modern "artsy" design, an advantage of being a newer team. The Coyotes didn’t join the NHL until the 1996-1997 season after being moved from Winnipeg where they were known as the Jets. And the #1 Best Jersey overall, who hasn’t been mentioned elsewhere, is the Washington Capitals. Although I love the current dark blue jerseys with the eagle and brown trim, I miss the old red, white and blue jerseys they used to wear. The older jerseys (white for home, red for the road) had Capitals spelled out across the chest and stars going across the chest and down the arms. These jerseys were so colorful and patriotic, very appropriate for Washington. Worst Jerseys of All-Time This was a hard list to come up with, too. There are so many older jerseys, that while they are a part of history and tradition, they just plain suck. There were many to choose from, but I narrowed it down to five. The #5 Worst Ever would be the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies played in Colorado in the late 1970’s to early 1980’s before moving east to become the New Jersey Devils. Their road jersey was blue with a weak looking mountain on the chest (looked more like a triangle) and had a red “C” in the center. It looks like a child drew the logo. Very lame. The #4 and #3 Worst Ever is a tie between the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques. There is nothing exactly ugly about these jerseys, they were just very plain and boring. The Jets jersey just basically says “Jets” and the “J” forms a hockey stick. I have never really been able to figure out the Nordiques logo and can’t even describe here because it is unclear to me what exactly it is supposed to be. These jerseys are so bland that I can’t really even find things to poke fun of! The #2 Worst Ever jersey would be the old Vancouver Canucks jersey that was worn in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The road jerseys were black with red and orange stripes. They were bright and gaudy looking. They did have the Canucks logo that is used today, but they only used a smaller version of it on the upper arm of the jersey. You really need sunglasses for this jersey because it is so loud. And for the #1 worst ever….Sorry, Boston fans, but the Bruins make the list again. They have never had a good jersey. The jersey they started out with in the 1920’s and 1930’s was just a plain white jersey with a black letter “B” on it. At least the more recent jersey has some yellow lines radiating out from it and yellow trim. The old jersey is really bad. Well, those are my lists. I hope no one was offended, this was meant to be for fun. These lists don’t even reflect my choice of teams; if it did, the Red Wings would have been at the top of the Best Five list! And the Avalanche would have been at the top of my Worst Five list (although, I hope they beat the Devils in the finals! Again, don’t tell anyone I said this, but “Go, Avs!”). The other participants in this write-off were: conter7, rcknrbn3, dantesguide, leafsbabe01, oilers_dynasty, james23, roynyr, Ldiablo  |
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