You're Wearing That? - Alternates And Stuff

It's been a while since I ran through some hideous or awe-inspiring jerseys. I figured that since the NHL was going gung-ho with their new alternates, we might as well take a look back at former alternate jerseys, as well as some other promotional jerseys worn in the various minor leagues. Of course, we'll still be previewing any new jerseys that NHL teams unveil, but this is more a look at what was. Or what should never have been. Honestly, some of these jerseys are very well done, while others are... well, you can finish that sentence yourself. In any case, these articles are a fun way to look at what teams are doing for promotions, and they usually result in some great comments, so feel free to add your thoughts. Please note that this will not cover vintage jerseys or throwbacks that weren't specifically used as alternates. Here is Chapter Seven of the You're Wearing That? series.

• The Anaheim franchise has worn a number of alternate jerseys over their short history. There was the Nike phase where they wore a white alternate and dark alternate jersey that looked slightly modernized. They aren't bad, but they aren't all that special either. The Ducks also wore a black alternate jersey that used a wordmark on the front rather than a logo. The most cringe-inducing jersey of them all was the Wild Wing jersey. The front was absolutely horrific, but the font on the rear of the jersey only added to the atrocity. Simply ridiculous.
• The Atlanta Thrashers are using their former alternate jersey as their current home jersey. Yes, it still looks stupid. Yes, I still don't like it. What was wrong with this jersey?
  
• The Boston Bruins only had one alternate jersey, and that was Team Pooh Bear. I'm not against yellow jerseys if they are done right, but there is just so much wrong with this jersey. Of course, during the NHL's 75th anniversary, the Bruins wore their throwbacks when playing against the other Original Six teams, but these weren't true alternates.
• The Buffalo Sabres used an alternate when they were in Angry Bison Head mode. These are decent alternates mainly because they have that decent Sabre logo. I'm not so fond of the red colour, but the logo is decent.
• The Calgary Flames went a little crazy when they introduced the flaming horse head on a black background. I was never a fan of these jerseys. It just felt a little bit too NBA for me. Of course, the Flames made these their home jerseys in 2000-01, eliminating the red jersey from their jersey set. They brought a red jersey back in 2003-04, and the hockey world gained some sanity again.
• The Colorado Avalanche thought they could be the New York Rangers for a few seasons by wearing an alternate with "Colorado" written diagonally across the jersey. It lacks imagination, and I'm not a fan. I prefer their snow-capped "A" logo.
• When the Columbus Blue Jackets still thought they were entomologists, they introduced an alternate jersey in 2003-04. Of course, this alternate was the prelude to their current jerseys, and it looks pretty good. No loss here for the Blue Jackets.
• The Dallas Stars originally introduced their former road jerseys as an alternate jersey in 1997-98. In 1999-2000, they ditched the solid colour jerseys for the star design. However, they had plans to add another jersey in the star design mold. In 2002-03, the Stars were supposed to introduce a gold-coloured jersey as an alternate. They had begun selling replicas before someone decided to scrap the design. If you're lucky, you can catch one on Ebay every once in a while. Dallas' worst idea yet might the Female Reproductive Tract alternate jersey. It was born and died in the 2005-06 season. Simply offensive.
• In 2001-02, the Edmonton Oilers made a radical decision to let Todd McFarlane create their third jersey. And it's one that I absolutely love. That jersey was one of the most popular during its time, and routinely was one of the NHL's best-selling pieces of merchandise. I would love to see it make a return.
• I'm not sure why the Florida Panthers came up with a blue alternate jersey, but they did. It's a lot of blah in its lack of creativity. Ironically, the blue jersey replaced their traditional red jersey during the 2003-04 season. And this led them to introducing a blue home jersey last season with the Reebok design. Because, you know, Florida panthers are blue in nature apparently. Has anyone in Florida ever seen a Mountain Lion? Because that's what a Florida panther is.
• The Los Angeles Kings are probably best remembered for the Burger King jersey as their alternate. These are horrible, and they look like a beer league hockey team uniform. Of course, they've also worn a purple version of their previous uniforms as an alternate jersey. The large silver crown makes it easy to spot the alternate.
• The Minnesota Wild were popular due to their green-and-red alternate jersey, prompting some to jokingly call them the Skating Christmas Trees. However, the new alternate was so popular that they ditched the traditional green uniform and kept the red jersey as their home outfit.
• The Montreal Canadiens wore a retro-style alternate jersey for the 2006-07 season only. I like the look of this jersey. Very classy.
  
• The Nashville Predators wore baby puke greenish-yellow for a while. I hated it. I will not talk about it. Don't even ask.
• The New York Islanders opened the 1995-96 season wearing one of my favourite jerseys in the Fisherman. However, public outcry for the Islanders' traditional logo forced the franchise to convert their jerseys back to the Isles' regular logo midway through the 1996-97 season as an "alternate". Except their alternate was worn all the time. In 1998-99, the Islanders scrapped the "wave" jersey altogether and went back to their normal jerseys. I'm disappointed by this move, but I got mine, so I can continue to commit to the Fisherman. And how can we forget about the New York Pylon-ders? I'm glad that alternate jersey went the way of the dodo.
• The New York Rangers are probably best known for their Lady Liberty alternate jerseys that came in white and dark blue. Check out Gretzky's white skates matching his white jersey in that photo! The white Lady Liberty jersey was only worn during the 1998-99 season.
• The Ottawa Senators brought forth an alternate jersey with a new Centurion's face in 1997-98. In 1999-2000, the red alternate replaced the road black jersey. Feeling slightly left out, they brought the black back as a new alternate jersey in 2000-01.
  
• The Philadelphia Flyers introduced a black alternate jersey in 1997-98. Like a lot of other teams, they pushed their traditional orange jersey off the boat in 2001-02 and went with black as their road jersey. And because they felt a little lonely without an alternate, they brought back a new orange alternate. That seems a little ridiculous, no? I abhor the stylized Flyers logo with the silver accents on that alternate jersey.
• The Phoenix Coyotes introduced an alternate jersey in 1998-99. Personally, I'm not a fan. But the Coyotes decided to tinker with the look of the alternate, making it more hideous. This alternate look was put to death after the 2002-03 season.
  
• The Pittsburgh Penguins were a team of changes. In 1995-96, the Penguins brought forth some gray striping in their new alternate jersey. Like the two teams above them, they turned this alternate into their road jersey for the 1997-98 season. The Penguins decided to bring back the skating penguin logo in 2000-01 after Mario Lemieux assumed control of the team. This jersey was an alternate jersey until 2002-03 when it bumped the gray-striped jersey from the jersey set. I like both of these jerseys, but the skating penguin is timeless.
• The St. Louis Blues, like the Dallas Stars, never got to show off their alternate jerseys. Mike Keenan refused to let his team play in their alternates in 1995-96 due to their hideousness. For once on this blog, I applaud Mike Keenan's decision.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning decided to ramp up the storm on their jersey - literally. The alternate jersey they debuted in 1996-97 actually has lightning on the arms and simulated rain. This could have been the start of that other Southeast Division team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Even the font was brutal. They didn't make it past the 1998-99 season.
• The Vancouver Canucks are a team of many faces. We'll start with the 1995-96 season where the Canucks checkmarked the skate on their jersey while providing a red background. This is horrible. They didn't make it past the 1996-97 season. In 2001-02 with Orca Bay at the controls, the Canucks rolled out a fade-to-red alternate jersey. Again, I find nothing redeeming about this jersey. These lasted until the 2006-07 season. With new ownership yet again, the Canucks went back in time and brought back the stick-in-rink jersey as an alternate. This one is solid, and certainly deserves the thumbs-up.
• The Washington Capitals went to a black alternate jersey in 1997-98. In a very clear trend, the Capitals replaced their eagle logo road jersey with their black alternate for the start of the 2000-01 season.

Now, there are a few teams not listed. The Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils have never used an alternate jersey in their histories. The Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks are continuing to use a black alternate jersey this season, so they haven't changed anything. The Sharks will update their logo, but the black alternate jersey remains. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still going with a white alternate jersey this season with the throwback logo, so they were not listed as the alternate jersey is still current. The Carolina Hurricanes had not used an alternate jersey previous to this season.

Ok, let's check out some other jerseys.

• The UHL's Adirondack IceHawks celebrated their 5th anniversary with a jersey. If you've read any of the other You Wearing That? articles, you know how stupid I think this is. 'Nuff said about this.
• The AHL's Milwaukee Admirals introduced a new alternate jersey earlier this month, and it's a beauty. Love the colour, and the logo is solid. The shoulder logo of the anchor made out of bones is pretty sweet as well. I may have to break the bank and pick one of these up.
• The AHL's Albany River Rats used their jerseys to tell everyone that they turned 10 years old in 2002-03. Again, I can't stress how stupid this idea is. On the charitable side, the River Rats had a jersey for Ronald McDonald House to help raise money. The jersey is kind of gaudy, but the funds raised on March 11, 2007 went to a good cause, so it gets a pass from me.
• Here are the UHL's BC Icemen's normal jerseys. Nothing special. Their alternate jersey from 2000-01 is even worse, and the logo could have been designed by anyone. However, they did a great job on the 2000-01 St. Patrick's Day edition of their jersey, and they get full marks for that one.
• The AHL's Binghamton Senators broke out a couple of great uniforms. First, they played as the Binghamton Dusters on December 15, 2007. The Dusters existed from 1977 to 1980 in the American Hockey League. Johnny Hart, cartoonist for the comic strip "BC", designed the logo. January 12, 2008 saw the Senators don the green-and-white of the Binghamton Whalers. They looked phenomenal, and Jeff Glass brought back memories of Jean-Sebastien Giguere in the Binghamton nets. Both jerseys are amazing! Well done, Binghamton!
• Check out the skates on the California Golden Seals. Maybe Gretzky was paying homage to his former California brethren? Those white skates are a mind-trip for people who only know hockey skates to be black.
• The USHL's Chicago Steel went pink for breast cancer awareness. I'm all for supporting good causes, but these pink jerseys are getting closer to neon pink. Again, it was for a good cause, so it gets a pass from me.
• The UHL's Danbury Trashers held a night to honour the men and women in the US military, and it looked pretty decent. The logo is a little tough to see, but the name and number on the back stand out.
• The KHL's Dynamo Riga picked up new jerseys for play in the KHL. They're pretty decent. This press conference shot allows you to see what the jerseys actually look like without all the advertisements on them.
• Team Greece is preparing for international play, and they got themselves some new threads. The dark jersey seems to have a little more jump to it in terms of bringing out the logo, but the white jersey is still looking great. Simple seems to work much better than crazy in the world of jersey design.
• The AHL's Iowa Chops have made it abundantly clear that they are the Ducks' AHL affiliate. You know... just take the NHL club's jersey design, and make it your own. Isn't jersey design easy and fun? Excuse my sarcasm. Notice I didn't say anything bad about that giant hog's head on the players' chests? I'll hold my silence on that.
• The WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors came out with this alternate jersey. That's atrocious. The logo looks like it's some sort of intellectually-challenged cartoon moose. Is that really how you want your team portrayed? That's brutal. Awful design, Warriors.
• Anyone remember that experiment that the NHL ran with referees at the All-Star game with silver bands on the arm instead of orange? If you don't, that's ok. I'll take you back to the 2000 NHL All-Star Game where they had one stripe coloured orange on their uniform. Why? No clue. But just so you don't miss it, here it is in a closer photo. I can't believe some of these ideas make it to production.
• The AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms held Bobby Clarke Night on March 27, 2008. To honour Mr. Clarke, the Phantoms donned the jerseys of the Flin Flon Bombers for the warm-up. Mr. Clarke played hockey in Flin Flon, Manitoba for the Bombers before being drafted by the Flyers. Everyone skated as Bobby Clarke, leader of the Broadstreet Bullies, for one night.
• The AHL's Providence Bruins might be the only team that does promotional nights right. They never seem to have a bad look. January 11, 2008 saw them honour the men and women of the US military. February 8, 2008 had the Bruins on the road dressed as the Providence Reds. The Reds operated in Providence from 1926 until 1977 in several leagues. February 10, 2008 had the Bruins play at home as the Reds. March 15, 2008 saw the Bruins celebrate St. Patrick's Day. And in one of the lesser seen things in hockey, Nat Thompson played part of last season with a cage. Solid jerseys all around for Providence.
• The AHL's San Antonio Rampage looked south for a promotional night, and came up with Fiesta Night. This could be a decent idea, but the jerseys they came out with for the night were not so decent. I'm not a fan of these. Adding "Fiesta Night" to the sombrero on the bull's head makes it even worse.

Ok, so there's a pile of new jerseys to feast your eyes upon. The NHL alternates are a quick look at what some of the alternates used to look like, while the other jerseys are a look at promotional jerseys. Some are good, and some are less than good.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

- huge thanks goes out to Ben from albanychoppers.com for some of these photos!