NHL: The Worst Jersey in the History of Every NHL Team

The team's colors are something that rally the support of the fans.  As an Avalanche fan, I've been known to tell people that I bleed burgundy and blue.

Fans flock to stores to purchase jerseys in order to show their support for the team that they live for, they get tattoos, paint their faces and wear things on their heads.

Even though the colors of a team might be something that serves as a rally cry, the jerseys that the teams come up with sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

We're going to take a quick and rather painful trip as we look at each team's worst jersey ever.

Anaheim Ducks

Before they severed ties with Disney, the Anaheim Ducks were The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The original logo, which is on the shirt of the flying duck in there, wasn't all that bad, but this very interesting choice was something that made many fans cringe.

As a kid, I thought it was cool, but I think I might have been 14 years old at the time, which explains my clear lack of judgement.

Perhaps they were hoping they could gain an advantage because the opposition was spending most of its time laughing rather than playing.

Atlanta Thrashers

Yes, I know that the Thrashers are no longer a team, but they did play up until this season, so here is my homage to them.

This particular jersey has sharp colors, but the insignia in the middle is perplexing. What is that thing, anyways?

It kind of reminds me of the little symbol that Prince used to use when he was just "the artist!"

So I guess we can now refer to them as "The Hockey Team Formerly Known as the Atlanta Thrashers."

Though I think they'll just go for the Winnipeg Jets now.

Boston Bruins

This yellow monstrosity from the Boston Bruins easily makes the list here.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the traditional B insignia that generally sits in the middle of a Boston Bruins jersey, but this thing is just awful.

This particular bear has shadows in funny places, and has tiny, beady, white eyes that make it look really confused, not fearsome at all.

Come on, if you're going to put an animal on the front of your jersey, it had better look like it's going to eat your opponent whole; otherwise, the entire point has been missed.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres do have a couple of jerseys to choose from that could make this list, but I went with this one.

In case anybody forgets where you live, it's in nice bold letter right in front: BUFFALO!!!

That wouldn't be so bad if the best Sabres logo wasn't underscored directly beneath those fun letters!

That logo is one of the defining features of the Buffalo Sabres organization, and there's a reason that they came back to that one after a couple years of failed logos.

This just makes me cock my head to the side, raise one eyebrow and ask, "What is that?"

Calgary Flames

This beauty is a very dark chapter in the history of the Calgary Flames, and they used to wear it a lot, if I remember.

I know that Calgary is kind of a "cow town," if you will that loves the rodeo and all that good stuff, but there is no reason to reflect that in a hockey jersey.

This insignia looks as if we are seeing the unfortunate child of a horse, dragon or phoenix that is currently having a terrible case of allergies made all the worse by the fact that every time it sneezes, fire comes out of its nostrils.

I am very glad that the Flames have put this one to bed, because it is awful.

Carolina Hurricanes

Honestly, I don't really mind this one all that much. It isn't that big of a departure from their regular jersey, and the colors don't go too nuts.

The hockey stick waving the flag is a little corny, sure, but this could have been a ton worse than it actually is.

I'm not certain what that little arrow background is just behind the flag, and it really does make that giant row of squares at the bottom of the jersey stick out more and look strange.

Still, not that bad in comparison.

Chicago Blackhawks

These Blackhawks jerseys were worn during the year they were a part of the Winter Classic.

While I do appreciate the attempt at a throwback jersey, this one does fall quite short.

That nice, bold, tan line ruins it for me.  Sure, I know that tan was big back in the day, but this makes the jersey just look old and tired, not old and cool.

Good thing we only had to see them once.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado hasn't had a long history of jerseys, but in general, they have been pretty sharp.

Even this one isn't all that bad, and it just edges out their current third jerseys, affectionately referred to as "the blueberry jerseys" because this field of burgundy has some awkward stripes down towards the bottom.

Plus, I dock this jersey for lack of originality. Could they not come up with another way to display the logo that all they could think of was spelling out Colorado across the chest? Come on, we can do better than that.

On the plus side, at least we never had to see anything like this.

Columbus Blue Jackets

At least Columbus got the blue part of their name with this jersey.

Exactly what does a logo of a cannon have to do with being the Blue Jackets? 

I know that Columbus fires off a "cannon" after they score a goal when they play at home, but this would be more appropriate if they were the Columbus Revolutionaries, or something like that.

This isn't something that is so much ugly as it is just not well conceived.

Dallas Stars

Every time I see this one, I just shake my head and get a good face-palm going.

I can just see them pitching this one.

First the jersey gets shown, and somebody says.

"It's a bull, we're not the Bulls, we're the Stars."

"No, no, it's a constellation in the shape of a bull."

"But we're the Stars, not the Constellations."

"But it's a grouping of stars that makes up something really tough."

"How much did we spend on these?"

"Enough that we have to wear them once."

"Well, shoot."

I think it may have gone down exactly like that.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have mostly had the same jersey, with the exception of some of the old time jerseys.

This one takes it for me because while I respect the attempt at the throw back look, the giant D in the funny font makes it look like they had a stake driven through their logo.

Attempt is OK, but execution is poor.

Edmonton Oilers

I have always been a fan of the usual Edmonton Oilers jersey, in all of its variations. 

From the old blue and orange to the darker blue and white, it just works.

This giant pipe with a little drop of oil makes this logo looks like it is either about to shoot a giant black spit ball, or the jersey is about to cry it's so sad.

Clearly the worst jersey in their history.

Florida Panthers

While the Panthers have gone through a few jerseys, that have usually stuck to the same look, more or less: that same panther head jumping out at you with the red and yellow.

This random use of nothing but blue has the problem shown right here when the goalie is still in all red, but the jerseys are blue; it just looks out of place.

I don't know how the Panther faithful feel about it, but I'm not much of a fan.

Los Angeles Kings

This one is so bad that it leaves behind that purple and yellow monstrosity from the 1970s.

What were these guys thinking?! He didn't exist back then, but this particular Kings jersey has a guy on it that looks just like that creepy king from the Burger King commercials.

I'm sure that Wayne Gretzky loved playing in these, because it doesn't look foolish at all.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are still a pretty young team, and haven't really had a ton of jerseys to go through as of yet.

Yet again, they don't really have a horrible jersey that makes everybody go, "What were they thinking!"

So I'm just going to choose the one that I like the least, which is their very red alternate jersey.

It's just a bit too red for me and makes me feel like a bull should be chasing them around the ice at all times.  That's all.

Montreal Canadiens

I remember these jerseys and how much they hurt my eyes while I was watching the game highlights.

Again, I know they are very old-school jerseys, but these were still just awful to look at.

The Maple Leaf in the middle of the jersey, and all of those stripes, probably confused a few people watching the game.

Really, the stripes really made it look like Waldo purchased the Montreal team and was trying to make it hard to find him while he was on the bench.

Again, jerseys that only come along once in a blue moon, and it is much better for everybody that it is that infrequent.

Nashville Predators

I hated these jerseys from the first moment I ever saw them; there was never a need for a jury.

This particular brand of yellow resembles the color of the contents of some of my daughter's more impressive diapers (my apologies for that image).

Either that, or it looks like another car should be driving up, rolling their window down and asking if there is any Grey Poupon.

This mustard yellow monstrosity may be the only jersey that has ever made me gag when I saw them.  Just bad.

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils have always had a pretty good jersey, in my opinion.

There really hasn't been all that much to dislike about their uniforms, except for this one.

I never really liked the green in this jersey, especially in the pants.  Just seemed a bit too Christmasy all the time.

Plus, the red, white and black is just so much bolder and flows much better.  Green, far too "Deck the Halls" rather than "Deck the guy with the puck."

New York Islanders

When the Islanders were winning championships, they were known for toughness, grit, determination and an absolute refusal to lose.

Do you get any of those things by looking at this jersey?  I don't.

I see some overly wavy lines and a guy who might be Gandalf the Grey standing in the net. 

On the plus side, at least his "Puck you shall not pass!" would be pretty effective.

New York Rangers

Not really a terrible jersey in the grand scheme of things, but the diagonal "Rangers" is just so iconic for this franchise; why mess with it?

Even the statue of liberty isn't that bad, but they way they outline her crown points makes you want to look at those more than her face.

Plus, it makes he look a bit more like the wife of Vlad the Impaler rather than Lady Liberty.

Ottawa Senators

This particular photo is of Ottawa's AHL affiliate in Binghamtom, but it is an old school Ottawa look.

The stripes were quite big in the old time jerseys, but the thing that makes me laugh a lot is the gigantic O in the middle of the jersey.

The jerseys seem in a constant state of surprise or amazement.  "Ooohhh!!!"

Either that or they are reminding the crowd of the first word of the Canadian National Anthem.

Either way, not a fan.

Philadelphia Flyers

I rarely ever like it when a team goes all black with their jersey; it just doesn't look that good.

Plus, that Philadelphia Flyers orange has always been such a recognizable part of their jerseys and team history that the distinct lack of orange in this jersey turns me off immediately.

We will probably see more of the straight black looks on this list.

Phoenix Coyotes

I imagine that many of the people out there would expect me to put the original jerseys that the Coyotes had when they first moved from Winnipeg, but I actually kind of liked the southwest feel that went with those.

These ones just look really silly to me.

Once again, the solid black background just doesn't seem to work for most teams, but the worst part is the coyote that appears to be leaping across their jersey.

It looks more like a dog than a coyote, and they probably would have been better served going with a direct look of the coyote's face, a la the Florida Panthers, than this.

Is it playing fetch?  Pouncing on its prey?  Running for the hills?  Lying dead on a black floor?  You just don't know!

Pittsburgh Penguins

I don't get it when teams who have completely and totally unrelated colors end up coming out with these blue jerseys.

Don't get me wrong; I am a huge fan of blue, but not in combination with yellow and black.

Is it some supposed old school style?  If it is, I don't like it at all.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are another team that have pretty much stuck with the same jersey and same logo ever since their inception.

I've always liked their teal, black and white combination, but once again can't really seem to understand why they have recently switched to this all black look.

It's just boring!  And the fin on their shoulder is just kind of silly. 

Not a fan, but I may be in the minority on this one.

St. Louis Blues

I can't actually find a photo of anybody wearing this, thank god, but the very fact that it exists is enough to make this list.

I can't honestly believe that an NHL franchise was considering putting this on its players; didn't somebody in the office say that this was a bad idea?

This almost gets close to Don Cherry night in the minors.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa has also largely kept to the same jersey style over the years with very few exceptions.

This third jersey from the late 1990s went a little bit overboard with the whole lighting idea.

Down the sleeves, not sure about the random diagonal lines across the chest, more lightning across the bottom of the jersey.

WE GET IT!  Your name is the Lightning!  Give it a break for crying out loud!

I'm not a huge fan of the straight blue one with "Bolts" written across it, but this one takes the cake.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto has had a very similar jersey for much of their storied history, and I really do like all of them.

So this is kind of the one that I like the least, again.

What I don't like about this is the multitude of stripes. Again, I know the throwback looks have a lot of stripes on them and that's just how it was, but nonetheless.

Also, that particular leaf on that jersey seems to be a bit confused.  It's just not sharp enough for my liking.

Vancouver Canucks

This may have been the easiest jersey to choose in this whole list. In fact, this may be the worst jersey in the history of professional sports!

The absolute disgusting V uniform is the worst combination of colors, and almost reminds me of the old AFL Denver Bronco jerseys that everybody hated, with the vertical striped socks.

The only team in the history of professional sports that has pulled off yellow as its main color in any type of a successful manner is the L.A. Lakers. Every other team should just forget it.

God, this jersey is just truly horrific.

Washington Capitals

The primarily black jersey strikes again and makes it onto this list.

I never saw why the Capitals switched away from the red, white and blue look to begin with, especially for that silly looking eagle.

Then they had to go and put the capitol building on a hockey jersey. Even then, the capitol building stood for partisan bickering, not hockey.

Just poor choice of a way to represent the team.

Winnipeg Jets

With the re-entry of the Jets into the NHL, I figured we could add them onto the list as well.

We have yet to see what their new jersey is going to look like, as they are going to have to choose a new logo because the NHL owns the name and logo rights.

The jersey has mostly stayed the same through their history, other than the move to Phoenix, but this is the one that I thought needed the most help.

Most of those Jets jerseys kept that background white in the circle, allowing the Jets portion to be in the dark blue. Not this one.

This one went the opposite route, and that solid blue background almost makes the players look more like a bulls-eye than a player.

Glad to see the Jets back in the NHL, though, and we're all very interested to see the new jersey.