Ranking the NHL Uniforms - Part 2

Hello friends (it's my Jim Nantz impersonation). It's time for Part 2 of my rankings of the NHL Uniforms. If you missed Part 1, you can find it below this post or here. I apologize for the extended time between the two posts, but my high school had Prom this weekend and I'm in charge of putting it on, so I was a little busy and then exhausted on Sunday (and it was Mother's Day).

Anyway - on with the list!!

Returning to Glory

15. Edmonton - The Oilers are the first of three who strayed away from their original looks only to wise up and come back to the classic logo and uniform. In 1995-96 they went to a darker blue color and a brownish secondary color. I didn't mind the navy look, but the brown just wasn't working, For the 2010 season they returned to the original royal blue/orange look and it's classic.

14. - New York Islanders - Talk about losing their minds - at one point the Isles thought this was a good look. I'm getting just now looking at the back of the jersey. The Gorton's fisherman look was bad. In 1998, they wised up and went back to their original look - one that reminds us of Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin and the 4-time Stanley Cup Champion. It will be interesting to see what happens next year as they move out of Long Island and into the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.

13. Washington - The final of the "returning to glory" teams. I could be wrong but I think the Caps hired the Islanders graphic design department when the transitioned to this look. Personally, I believe Minor League Baseball logos had quite an impact for awhile. There is a difference between a cartoonish look and a fun logo. Sometimes the line was crossed. But again, the Capitals wised up and returned to the simple and clean look they use today.

Close, But Not Quite

12. Tampa Bay - This section contains some potential surprises for most folks, but I find just falling just short of the best of the best category. We'll start with the Lightning. The best choice they could have made was dropping the black look to go to the straight royal blue look. Tampa, along with a couple of the next teams, took a page from the "old school" and went with the team name along with the logo. I like that....a lot.

11. Philadelphia - Ah, the Flyers. Absolutely love the logo. The only attribute that keeps them from the top of the list is their nameplate. I just can't get past the white nameplate with black lettering on an orange jersey. Just seems odd to me. 

10. Arizona - As we hit the Top 10 a surprising team makes an appearance. In most lists I've seen ranking the uniforms, the Coyotes are ranked low. This I do not understand. If we're talking about this uniform set - then I get it. Awful. I don't want to feel as if I'm tripping on acid while watching a hockey game. Their changes in 2003 went with the simple look. Love the deep red color and the simplicity of the coyote logo. But what sets it all of is the striping. LOVE the different sizing of the stripes, with the outer stripes being thinner with the inside stripe being thicker. Classic.

9. Vancouver - As much as I  possibly could, I've tried to keep my feelings about certain teams out of the equation when judging their uniforms. I think I've done pretty good here,  because I can't stand the Canucks. When they went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994 they were wearing this boring look. Hey, we've got skates....cause we're a hockey team. Ugh. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the Orca look, mostly because I was confused as to where it came from. As you can read here, the reasoning was the name of the parent company that owned the Canucks called Orca Bay. Made sense. They really won me  over when in 2007 they kept the same logo, but returned to the original royal blue and kelly green colors. Gorgeous.

Best of the Best

In the final 8 it will not be a coincidence that you will find all of the Original Six teams. This is the way it should be. A couple of non-Original Six teams made the cut because their looks are excellent.

8. Minnesota - They would be  higher on the list IF they uniform shown was always their stated home jersey, but it's not. This is currently their official home jersey. This bumps them down the list. What the Wild have adopted as their home jersey is beautiful. I love the simplicity of the cursive script on the uniform and the striping is top notch. I also prefer the green to the red as the main color of the jersey. And the cream color font just brings it all together. Stellar.

7. New York Rangers - The first of the Original Six to appear on the list. Why don't I have them higher? To be completely honest, by this point it was EXTREMELY difficult to differentiate between the uniforms and decided which is better, so I had to get nitpicky. For the Rangers, it comes down to this - when the NHL decided to go with dark colors at home (which I still don't like) they changed the blue jersey from saying New York to saying Rangers. I feel as if one of the jersey's should say New York on it. Minor, isn't it?

6. Boston - The Bruins, classic. Again, I needed to find a reason to rank them lower than others and for the Bruins it's the fact that I wish they'd just stuck with the TV numbers on the shoulders. They started adding a logo in 1981-82 with just the bear head. Then in 2007, they added their alternate logo to the shoulder. If it's your "alternate" logo, leave it on the alternate jersey. I know, I know. But I had to delineate a difference somehow!!

5. Montreal - Les Habitants (this is where the Habs nickname comes from, BTW). Love the simple look of the CHC logo. Oh yes, there are technically two C's in the logo. And the H does not stand for Habitants, as most people believe. The french name of the team is le Club de hockey Canadien. The H stands for hockey. Surprise!!! Why are the #5? Much like the Rangers I much prefer the white jersey to the red. That's it.

4. Buffalo - What?!?! A non-Original Six team in the Top 5? I can't help it. I just love this Buffalo jersey so much I can't stand it. From 1996-2010 this was another team that lost its mind when it came to the logo and uniform. Good lord, that's ugly. But like many other teams, they decided to return to the original logo, yes, a Buffalo and sabers. Get it? But they made a slight change - navy blue instead of royal blue. Absolutely perfect. But there are three ahead of them that are more perfect. Sorry Buffalo.

3. Toronto - The long-suffering Maple Leafs fans can at least take solace in the fact that their uniforms are at the top of the league. The simplicity of the Maple Leaf along with the team name within the maple leaf is classic. There's something so beautiful about its simplicity. And the striping is excellent as well. Kudos Toronto!

2. Detroit - As I've stated before, I've tried not to let my fan feelings get involved when judging the uniforms. Here's it most difficult. It came down to the final two and I had to find a separator. I'll let you know what that was when I get to number 1, but the Red Wings logo and uniform is perfection. I know I've said that multiple times, but the NHL is really the best professional league when it comes to logos and uniforms. There are so many excellent choices.

1. Chicago - Yes, I am a Blackhawks fan. But the Indian head is fantastic. The reason it finished ahead of Detroit? The C with the tomahawks on the shoulders. What a fantastic secondary logo. The multi-colored striping in gorgeous and it really is the best uniform in all of professional sports.

There you have it! My rankings of the best NHL uniforms for 2015. We'll keep our eye out for any changes next year. Thanks again to Chris Creamer's site for the pictures!! Can't wait to do this for the other major sports....

Until next time,
Shawn

Lo End Theories - 4/22/15

First and foremost - a shout out to my lovely wife who has a birthday today. Love ya!!

You’d like a midweek edition of Lo End Theories? Well, it’s your lucky day! Here we go….

If you haven’t noticed, the Cubs are FUN to watch this year. The Northsiders are currently 8-5 and a scant half-game behind the division leading Cardinals (with a game in hand). Please understand that I have been screaming from the rooftops, pun intended, that 2016 is the year I expect them to make a run in the playoffs. That, however, does NOT mean that the Cubbies won’t be fun to watch this year. Theo and Jed called up yet another uber-prospect, Addison Russell, yesterday to start playing at 2B. He fared about as well as the other can’t-miss kid, Kris Bryant, did in his first game, 0-5 with 3 K’s. But that’s beside the point. After five games Bryant is now hitting .444 with an OPS of 1.194. Yes, you read that correctly. And last night he hit a bat that was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. Watch where this pitch is headed and then see where Bryant deposits it in the OF. It’s not human.

Rizzo is hitting .302, Soler is hitting .327 and Castro is hitting .352 with another bomb last night. The offensive lineup is….studly. The most exciting component of this team is they are never out of a game. When Jason Motte gave up a three run triple in the 7th last night to the Pirates I wasn't ready to turn the television off, as in past years. This offense is by no means out of any game. And sure enough, the Cubs got a single run back in the 8th on Castillo’s HR and then proceeded to get 3 in the 9th off the Pirates closer, Mark Melancon, to get the W. It’s an exciting time to be a Cubs fan. I’m still holding back on the “this is the year” talk until they prove they can consistently win with their youth this year. But in 2016 and beyond….:)

The NHL Playoffs are the best playoff in profession sports. The NFL is a one and done system, which can be exciting, but there’s nothing like a Game 7. MLB is my sport, but the intensity of the NHL trumps their playoffs. At the same time, I DESPISE the All-Star Game winner getting home field advantage in the World Series. The NCAA Tournament is awesome, but only once in a great while, sans Butler, do you get underdogs that make it to the penultimate event, the Final Four. The feelings that the NHL Playoffs produce are insane – it borders on a combination of passing out, elation, vomiting, euphoria and holding your breath for 60 minutes….and that’s only if the game doesn't go into OT. The playoff series have been fantastic so far and we’re only in the FIRST ROUND! Here are some recaps:

In the Western Conference:

• The upstart Minnesota Wild who have been on a hot streak since they acquired G Devan Dubnyk are poised to take a 3-1 series lead over the St. Louis Blues, who tied the Anaheim Ducks for the best record in the West. That’s playoff hockey.
• Brent Seabrook scored in the THIRD overtime last night to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The interesting part of this series is the Hawks number 1 goalie, Corey Crawford, has been relegated to backup after the first two games. He was pulled after the first period in Game 1 after giving up 3 goals. Chicago came back to win that game 4-3 in OT because of Scott Darling’s 42 saves in relief of Crawford. Corey was back in net for Game 2, but lost 6-2. Since then it’s been Darling’s job. A hot goalie can take you a long way in the hunt for Lord Stanley. 
• The Calgary-Vancouver series has been an absolute brawl so far. A donnybrook at the end of Game One produced over 132 penalty minutes for both teams. Thy DO NOT like each other. At the same time, there’s another goalie controversy. The Canucks signed Ryan Miller in the off-season but started Eddie Lack in the playoffs. After falling behind in last night’s Game Four, Miller was called to the rescue but to no avail as the Canucks are now down 3-1 and on the brink of elimination. 

In the Eastern Conference:

• Montreal v Ottawa has had the same “bitter enemy” feel as has Vancouver v Calgary. The Habs are up 3-0 but not without some dispute as well. A very suspect penalty was called on the Sens in overtime of Game Three and the Canadiens capitalized and scored in the extra frame to gain a 3-0 series lead. In Game One, Montreal’s start defenseman, PK Subban, slashed the Sens Mark Stone so hard that he broke Stone’s wrist. And there’s been goalie flip-flops in this series as well for Ottawa.
• The other three series in the East are absolute dogfights. Tampa Bay and Detroit has been up and down, but Detroit stole home ice advantage with a win in Game One in Tampa. The Lightning were a popular media pick to make it out of the Eastern Conference yet they are struggling in their first round series.
• The Rangers v Penguins is a match made in heaven for the media. A New York team playing against the most popular player in the game, Sidney Crosby? What more could you ask for? The Rangers represented the East last year in the Finals and the Pens barely squeaked in the playoffs. Each game has been a one goal game and those are the most nerve-wracking as a fan.
•  Finally, the Capitals and the Islanders are having a great series as well. The Caps are regarded as the best team not to win the Cup in recent years. Alexander Ovechkin can never seem to get the Capitals over the hump. On the other side, the Islanders made the playoffs for only the second time since 2006-2007. A young nucleus of players including Kyle Okposo and John Tavares has Isles fans giddy with excitement about their potential. They are tied with the Capitals 2-2 after four games and Game Four was a doozy. The Caps scored late to send it into OT where John Tavares of the Isles scored :15 in to give New York the victory.

The NFL released their schedules for the 2015 season last night in a 2-hour special on ESPN and the NFL Network. Seriously? I honestly can’t understand why people would watch this; especially with playoff hockey and baseball on the tube. At the same time, I was watching Twitter hours before the shows were to air and I already knew two-thirds of my Bears schedule. So why again would I care about a scheduling show? Whatever. I feel like the NFL is trolling the networks by offering random programming just to make money. It works. The Draft is in EIGHT days and it will be broadcast on TWO networks and the NFL will make a ton of money off of it and garner a ton of viewers. That I get. But the schedule? I guess it makes sense now why the executive vice president of media and CEO of the NFL Network made $26.1 million in salary in 2012.

Finally, we are ten days away from the epic fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio. At this point in a major event as this title fight, the little details are the ones being covered to ensure a great event. This fight? The contracts have not been signed and NO tickets have been sold. Seriously? This is weird. And it smells fishy; like something strange is going to happen and the fight will be postponed. But would that surprise us at all at this point? This duel has taken so long to come to fruition anyway on account of two different viewpoints of the camps. In addition, word has leaked on the referee’s salary for the fight. It’s $25,000. Doesn't sound bad until you consider both fighters stand to make that PER SECOND of the contest. That’s ridiculous. Anyone else sense that this whole thing is a giant Punk’d episode and Ashton Kutcher is dying laughing somewhere….?

Until next time,

Shawn