My Two Cents: A Controversial Ranking of NHL Jerseys

This article could get ugly.

Not literally, but I really don't expect any compliments, at least, coming in that comments section down below.

NHL Jersey Rankings have surprisingly been on the rise recently in terms of input, but I don't think there's been one like this.

But, no, I'm not just doing it to stir up some talk. I really do think that "slug" in Buffalo deserves to be among the top, maybe even the best...you'll just have to read and see.

These rankings were determined by a combination of both home and away rankings, both of which are entirely my opinion only.

So, go ahead and enjoy...and remember that this is me, not you. So you don't have to agree, because that's not my job. But do put in your feelings if you want in the comments section...that's what it's for!

30: Phoenix Coyotes

Total Points: 2
Home Jersey: 30th
Away Jersey: 30th

The Coyotes just can't get their colors right. The maroon-red and white looks like a combination from the 50s, and the oddly sized arm stripes are very tacky. This uniform is too boring to get any compliments from me. At least the coyote looks a little realistic...

29: Detroit Red Wings

Total Points: 4
Home Jersey: 29th
Away Jersey: 29th

I figure I'm going to take a lot of heat for this low rating, but as good as they are, the Red Wings jerseys aren't that spectacular. First of all, what in the world is that bike wheel and tire with wings on it supposed to be? Also, the jerseys are a little tacky and will put you to sleep. Nothing special here at all.

Tie-27: New York Islanders

Total Points: 8
Home Jersey: 27
Away Jersey: 28

The Islanders just aren't very good at this. The blue and orange combo is fine, but the blue is kind of a faded indigo color and looks very out-of-place with that weird burnt orange color. Then you combine that with an outdated, just plain tacky logo, and it gets even worse. The little trimmings at the bottom and around the shoulders improve it a little, but all in all it isn't a very striking kit.

Tie-27: New York Rangers

Total Points: 8
Home Jersey: 28th
Away Jersey: 27th

The oddity begins with the diagonal RANGERS writing, which looks like it came out of a word search puzzle. Then, you add in some strange triple-stripes here and there which look sort of like an Olympic medal ribbon, and it's a pretty strange combination. Also, on the away jersey, the red outline of the blue letters is very tacky.

26: Florida Panthers

Total Points: 14
Home Jersey: 25th
Away Jersey: 23rd

The design is intriguing and so is the dark home jersey, but the light colors don't complement the navy blue base well at all, especially on the home uniform. A more burnt-orange look could fit in better. Also, the logo appears too large and is made into a pretty pathetic main feature.

25: Toronto Maple Leafs

Total Points: 17
Home Jersey: 17
Away Jersey: 28

The maple leaf is just the right size and complements the colors well, and the classic blue-and-white pairing looks good, but there just isn't enough going on. More trimming would spice this jersey up a few ranks.

24: Carolina Hurricanes

Total Points: 18
Home Jersey: 19
Away Jersey: 25

This jersey definitely has some striking and interesting parts, but it is a little overdone in places. On the home uniform, the gray lining needs to be scrapped and the black emphasized more, especially around the shoulders. On the away kit, there is too much white on the upper half for it to draw any attention. However, I like the hurricane warning flags around the bottom, and their third jersey is definitely one of the best in the league.

Tie-21: Montreal Canadiens

Total Points: 19
Home Jersey: 26th
Away Jersey: 19th

The red is a nice shade, but the other NHL designers should be scratching their heads at these decisions. Paired with the nicely complimentary blue and a trusted third color in white, the Montreal folks go out and put these big, fat streaky lines across the center of the sleeves and jersey, without putting any decoration on the shoulders part at all. Then, on the away jersey, I guess they just gave up, because there is absolutely nothing there.

Tie-21: Edmonton Oilers

Total Points: 19
Home Jersey: 22
Away Jersey: 21

I like the jersey just fine. The tan complements a navy feature color, and the red and white trim are subtle yet fit in well. However, that logo is just hideous. They have a fairly difficult name to find a logo for to begin with, but the raindrop-shaped tan thing hanging from the top above an overly drippy "OILERS" lettering in a old-fashioned circle is horrible.

Tie-21: Philadelphia Flyers

Total Points: 19
Home Jersey: 22
Away Jersey: 21

What really is a "flyer"? They could have had the "eagles," or the "hawks," or the "falcons," but yet they chose the Flyers?

Well, apparently at least their designers know what a Flyer is, but I'm not sure it's what anyone would guess. A yellow-and-black bull's-eye with a square-ish backwards "E" trailing from behind is quite a bit out of place here.

Also, the sleeves look too much like European national flags rather than a striking sports jersey.

20: Chicago Blackhawks

Total Points: 23
Home Jersey: 24
Away Jersey: 15

It's not like the 'Hawks actually wear these; they're too focused on their third jerseys, but it has all the keys besides a logo. And the logo....is just plain awful. The guy looks like he's not sure whether he'd like to smile or frown about the random burns that scar his cheeks and chin and the tangled yellow strings in his hair next to rainbow feathers...

As far as the uniform itself goes, the red could be darkened a bit, but otherwise they get the combination just right between it being overdone or too "with the crowd."

19: Atlanta Thrashers

Total Points: 24
Home Jersey: 14
Away Jersey: 24

Some may dislike the light blue home kit, but I think it stands out nicely and is a very unique and pleasing combination with the yellow-orange and navy blue. The logo is kinda tacky, though, because its sort of like a snaky-looking hawk who's about to pummel someone with a hockey stick, which isn't the most common theory for logos. In my opinion, the secondary logo that appears on the shoulders would be much better. The "ALTANTA" lettering down the sides could be trashed, too.

On the road jersey, it just needs more blue and less white on the main body of the uniform.

18: Ottawa Senators

Total Points: 27
Home Jersey: 16
Away Jersey: 19

They deserve kudos for a successful logo, one of the few on this lower half of the list. However, the weird little "O"s on the shoulders are ridiculous, and there isn't enough going on on the body for this jersey to catch the eye at all.

17: Washington Capitals

Total Points: 28
Home Jersey: 18
Away Jersey: 16

You have to give them credit for not taking the name "Capitals" and putting some dorky outline of the white house on as their logo, and instead coming up with a witty way of writing out the team name.

There aren't a lot of specialties about the uniform; both could use a bit more pizazz, but they are perhaps the only team to use that red (bordering on pink) color successfully.

16: Tampa Bay Lightning

Total Points: 31
Home Jersey: 13
Away Jersey: 18

I really actually like that home jersey. There isn't a ton of spice to it, but the black theme is a nice modern look and the blue trim supports it well. However, the logo ruins a lot. It would be so much nicer if it was just the lightning bolt, without the nerdy "Tampa Bay" slanted letters or the little full moon shape hiding unsuccessfully in the middle.

15: Columbus Blue Jackets

Total Points: 35
Home Jersey: 7th
Away Jersey: 20th

If they could get in a few horizontal stripes, although not really bold or centered, it might draw some more attention, just like adding in more red might. However, this is a fine-looking kit, and the logo is just awesome. It may not really be a blue jacket, whatever that is, but it sure looks pretty patriotic yet just as cool.

14: Dallas Stars

Total Points: 36
Home Jersey: 20th
Away Jersey: 4th

It's all about the logos on these two jerseys. On the home uniform, there basically isn't one. It's just the curved DALLAS signage in the gold-and-white, which does complement the solid black well but doesn't give a whole lot on content to look at.

Then you get to the away jersey, and it's a whole different story. Not only is the logo done up very well, but the overused white background finally actually fits with the murky olive green and golden tan trim.

13: Minnesota Wild

Total Points: 37
Home Jersey: 23rd
Away Jersey: 2nd

Once again, like Dallas, the Wild have a great road kit and just a mediocre jersey for games in Minnesota. The snarling wolf with the sunset-over-the-forest decoration is very interesting, but it's halfway ruined when it is shrunk so much to make room for a tacky "Minnesota Wild" lettering around the circular border.

As for the jersey, the Wild do a very nice job of combining a red shade with a green shade and not make it look like walking Christmas.

12: New Jersey Devils

Total Points: 39
Home Jersey: 15th
Away Jersey: 8th

It's not a really striking logo, but the devil-ish NJ is fairly clever. As for the jersey, the away one gets top-10 regards, mostly for its simple yet solid look. On the home jersey, the red background fits well with the supporting black-and-white theme, but a little more trimming on the shoulders area could improve it somewhat.

11: Colorado Avalanche

Total Points: 42
Home Jersey: 8
Away Jersey: 12

I think the swirly, snowy "A" is a good fit with the purple/red and blue color theme. It's not very exciting, but it's detail and style fit well for these two interesting colors.

The purple would overpower the darker blue along the sides usually, but that fitting shade works out very well. I also like the black and white stripe down the sides of the jersey and, unusually, I think the long vertical on the sleeves also fit. The away jersey could move up to the same rank as the home kit if they added in more color to the front, but the white also adds some attractiveness.

10: Nashville Predators

Total Points: 43
Home Jersey: 10
Away Jersey: 9

This jersey ended up higher than I wanted it too, but that snarling, ferocious "thing" on the front really looks awesome. In my opinion, it's clearly one of the top two or three logos in the NHL. As for the jerseys, the subtle golden trim compliments the navy blue well, but they need to either add some more style to the lower part of the sleeve, or get a new color in there instead of the odd white.

9: St. Louis Blues

Total Points: 46
Home Jersey: 2nd
Away Jersey: 14th

The team designers have a horrible team name to try to work with, but there are a lot of things right about this uniform. Like Nashville, the yellow trim works well again, yet its combo with the lighter toned blue is better than for the Preds. The logo isn't very original, and I would like it more if they could incorporate hockey more into it, but it fits well with the jersey. Also, I like the diagonal color separations along the sleeves.

Tie-5: Vancouver Canucks

Total Points: 47
Home Jersey: 12th
Away Jersey: 3rd

Sure, maybe you can't really identify what that creature on the front is, but it does look pretty cool, like the rest of the jersey. The blue and green fit very well, but I think a bit more blue tint in the sea green stripe could help it. The white on the away jersey actually fits with this color scheme, and it doesn't lack detail despite the undone trimming. The simple shoulder emblems are nice, too.

Tie-5: Calgary Flames

Total Points: 47
Home Jersey: 9th
Away Jersey: 6th

The fiery "C" may not be very detailed, but it's a solid crest to go with a solid jersey set. The extra black and yellow trimmings add a lot of spice to the lower part of the sleeves and body, giving this uniform high regards for intrigue from me. A bit more action and color around the shoulders and neck could be better, though.

Tie-5: Los Angeles Kings

Total Points: 47
Home Jersey: 4th
Away Jersey: 11th

It gets its fair share and more of criticism, but I kind of like the medieval-style writing around the waist of the jersey. It gives a good complement to the black theme on the home jersey, especially. The logo is fine, although not terrific, and I like the trapezoid-like indigo stripe surrounded with a complementary pale gray a whole lot. They also have a good secondary crest just below the shoulders.

Tie-5: Pittsburgh Penguins

Total Points: 47
Home Jersey: 5th
Away Jersey: 10th

Sure, you've got a point. There aren't a lot of penguins in Pennsylvania, and even where there are penguins, I don't think they play hockey. But the designers have done a great job not only getting a relevant-to-hockey emblem, but a kind of amusing once that also fits the color scheme. The curled black, tan, and white idea on the lower sleeve is nice, and so is the rest of the jersey, despite its simplicity.

4: Boston Bruins

Total Points: 48
Home Jersey: 1st
Away Jersey: 13th

I'm usually not a huge fan of "classics," but this home jersey defies that, big time. I really like the gold, yellow, and white various striping around the waist and on the sleeves, although it could be better if that design was shifted farther down the kit. Also, the plain yellow upper shoulders make a good and not overwhelming contrast to the dark main color.

4: Boston Bruins

3: San Jose Sharks

Total Points: 50
Home Jersey: 11th
Away Jersey: 1st

If they could just darken that teal a little bit, this might be the number one jersey. However, it's still one of the best right now. The biting shark is great design as well as appealing, and its radical difference to the white and black (with orange trim) designs make the crest show up very well despite its color similarity to the sea green base color.

3: San Jose Sharks

2: Anaheim Ducks (Although not Mighty)

Total Points: 51
Home Jersey: 6th
Away Jeresey: 5th

If they just had an actual logo, they could be number one. But it's still one of the best right now. The asymmetrical, diagonal stripes are not only appealing, but have a great blend of colors, too. The interesting neck stripes are also nice. It may not have a lot going on around the player's chest area, but the Ducks uni is a very solid set.

My Top Jersey, No. 1: Buffalo Sabres

Total Points: 52
Home Jersey: 3rd
Away Jersey: 7th

It's not supposed to be a slug, and it's not a slug. Instead, in my opinion, it's a terrific modern take on the idea of a buffalo. And, you say, "They aren't the Buffaloes, they're the Sabres!" Well, that's taken care of too, with the nice little sword crests near the shoulders.

I also really like the intricate and curly lines on the sleeves, which give it a lot of secondary appeal. If there is a weakness, it's the waist area, but this jersey definitely doesn't need any more. I know I'm going to be feeling the heat like an oven turned at 500 on this decision, but I think the Sabres have one of the most striking jerseys in all of professional sports.