NHL Winter Classic Uniforms: Ranking the Uniforms from Past Winter Classics

Yesterday, the 2012 NHL Winter Classic jerseys might have been leaked. According to Yahoo! Sports, the jerseys pictured above may be the uniforms worn on Jan. 2 during the Winter Classic in Philadelphia.

Although these threads are not official yet, if they are used, they will continue a trend of having great looking uniforms for the annual event.

In the past four years, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings released beautiful threads that in some cases, becamse standard alternate or regular uniforms for the team involved.

That being said, let us rank the eight Winter Classic threads. All of these uniforms are stunning, and just because one of the jerseys is ranked low it doesn't mean the jersey is ugly. It just means there's stiff competition.

Here we go!

8. Buffalo Sabres (2008)

At the time, the Buffalo Sabres wore what many Sabres infamously called the "Buffaslug" jerseys. It had a nice color scheme, but the buffalo pictured on the front resembled a slug, not a fierce animal.

So for the Winter Classic, the Sabres used this white jersey with blue and gold trim that brought back memories of the jerseys they wore in the 1980s.

The jersey was so popular that it is now the road uniform for Buffalo. The dark blue version of this jersey is also their home jersey.

A common theme of Winter Classic jerseys is to go back to the team's roots, and the Sabres did it very well.

7. Boston Bruins (2009)

The Bruins went back to their brown and gold color scheme from the 1920s and 1930s for their Winter Classic uniform. This beauty could've ranked higher, but the logo patch in the middle doesn't work too well.

It's understandable that the logo has historical significance for the Bruins. However, the cartoonish "B" could have been replaced with perhaps the Red Sox stylized "B" or just the regular Bruins logo. They could've perhaps used the Bruins secondary logo that's on their alternate uniform.

This jersey itself is beautiful with the gold color and brown and white trims. The gold and brown scheme is very rarely used in sports, but it really is a vintage look that could be used more often.  

6. Philadelphia Flyers (2009)

The Flyers first Winter Classic uniform was used in 2010 at Fenway Park. It's a nice uniform that goes back to their Stanley Cup years of the 1970s.

One unique feature on the jersey is the black nameplate, and it adds a great touch. It was pretty popular with the fans, and this jersey is now their road jersey.

It's not the most creative looking jersey, so it will take a spot at No. 6.

5. Washington Capitals (2011)

The Capitals wore these gorgeous threads last year at Heinz Field. The jersey brings back memories of Peter Bondra in the late 80s and early 90s. It makes people wonder why they changed their color scheme late in the 90s and resorted to putting an ugly eagle on their jersey.

The Capitals' current home and away jerseys are based on what they wore earlier in their history, and it was nice to see them bring back the original jersey from the 80s for the Winter Classic. The jersey was popular among the fans so it stands now as the Capitals alternate jersey.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins (2011)

This jersey could've easily been ranked No. 1 if there weren't so many stripes on the arms. It's an absolute beauty that brings back a special part of Penguins history—the obese skating penguin. This was the original Penguins logo from 1967-68.

The current logo and the logo used for the Penguins after their early years features a buff penguin skating ferociously. This logo, however, features a fat penguin with a scarf skating happily on the ice. The columbia blue and navy blue color scheme also echo back memories of the early days for the Penguins.

The jersey now stands as the Penguins alternate jersey, replacing the 2008 Winter Classic jersey.

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (2008)

When the Penguins wore this uniform in the 2008 Winter Classic, it was their first time wearing blue since the early 1980s. This was also the inspiration for the 2011 Winter Classic jersey. This is why it takes one spot ahead of the 2011 beauties.

The logo on the jersey is the Penguins logo from 1968-1972.

The powder blue uniforms are absolutely unique in that they were the only powder blue uniform in the league when they first came out. The Penguins used this as their alternate jersey for three seasons after the Winter Classic. It is now retired.

This jersey was also the inspiration for the blue Florida Panthers alternate jersey they used last season.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (2009)

This jersey is based on the 1936-37 style of the Blackhawks jersey. The circular, retro logo was on the front chest.

The Blackhawks wore these at Wrigley Field back in 2009 in a 5-3 loss to Detroit.

Everything about this uniform is beautiful. From the retro looking logo the color scheme and the vintage white color on the logo, this jersey gets an "A" for a grade.

1. Detroit Red Wings (2009)

Who said a white jersey couldn't be No. 1?

Generally, white jerseys are a lot more plain than colored home jerseys, but the Red Wings proved that theory wrong.

These jerseys were based on the Detroit Cougars jersey worn in the 20s. The best part of the jersey is the Old English "D," which resembles the Detroit Tigers' "D".

The designer wins major props because it is difficult to come up with a third jersey for a team who has pretty much had one color scheme and logo throughout their history. We saw the atrocities that were the barber shop Montreal Canadiens' uniforms. This jersey may be plain, but it brings out the rich history of Detroit hockey, and it's a gorgeous jersey, too.

The jerseys were only worn once during the Classic because the Red Wings have had a long tradition of wearing just two jerseys.