Stuck In The Nineties

Moxy Früvous, a Canadian band that featured Jian Ghomeshi, had a hit with "Stuck in the 90's", their satirical look at life for a number of people in the 1990s. They referenced Pat Buchanan, Abbie Hoffman, and allude to a few others in the song, but they missed out on one group: the St. Louis Blues. The Blues decided to update their look last night at their IceBreaker event, and it appears that the Blues will wear uniforms similar to what they wore when players like Pronger, MacInnis, and others wore from 1998 through to 2007.

We'll start with the home jersey in blue in terms of looking at TJ Oshie in the new uniform on the left and Chris Pronger on the right.

If you're looking closely, these new uniforms are nearly similar to the ones worn by the Blues in 1998. The new uniforms squared off the shoulder yoke and the striping is a little different, but we're looking at a near-perfect throwback right down to the colors used. Granted, the collar is different and the stripes are thicker, but that's due to the template being used by Reebok and the NHL now. However, if one were to glance at this new uniform, it has very few differences from what was worn in the late-1990s and the majority of the 2000s.

The road uniform, worn by Alex Pietrangelo on the left, also resembles what Chris Pronger wore for nearly a decade while he played in St. Louis.

Same as above, the shoulder yoke has been squared off, the striping is a little thicker, and the collar is different, but the Blues went straight back to 1998 in redesigning their look. You can say what you want about the small differences, but the Blues will throwback to an era in which they posted a franchise-best 114 points in 1999-2000 in earning the President's Trophy and a berth in the Western Conference Final.

Call me a fan of this look. I love the hem stripe being brought back, but I commend and celebrate the Blues' decision to bring back a hockey jersey from a team that people loved. The Blues were a force in the late-1990s in the Western Conference alongside names like the Detroit Red Wings, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Dallas Stars. They had the stars in players like Pronger, MacInnis, Pavol Demitra, and Pierre Turgeon and were coached by Joel Quenneville, but just came up short each year before falling off the pace of these teams.

The Blues will look sharp again next season. They haven't altered too much aside from yanking some piping from the design and widening stripes. If you want a team that is moving into being a consistently good-looking team, the St. Louis Blues have delivered in this new look.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!