For the second time this season, the Utah Mammoth are about to face a team debuting a brand-new jersey. First, the Edmonton Oilers, and now the Dallas Stars.
This season alone, 21 new jerseys have hit the shelves — though the word “new” is used generously, as some of them are just recycled from previous years.
We’ve taken the liberty of separating them into tiers, based on two factors:
- General niceness — the “woah” factor.
- Originality — if they’ve used it before, it’s way less cool.
Tier 4: Did they even try?
Imagine waiting all year for the new iPhone to come out, only to realize they’re just rereleasing the iPhone 3. Or for the fourth season of Ted Lasso to release, only to find out “Season Four” is just a rerun of the first one.
That’s how it is when an NHL team hypes up a jersey release, only to bring one back from a decade or two ago. If you already have that jersey in a box in your attic, what incentive do you have to go buy another one?
Note: The New York Rangers’ Centennial and Winter Classic jerseys get a pass here, as the original editions of those came out before retail jerseys existed.
Tier 3: Not different enough
If you need a microscope to tell the difference between a new jersey and an old one, the designers didn’t change it enough.
That’s how these ones are.
Tier 2: Pretty good
The current era of the NHL does not have an ugly jersey, but some are still better than others. Here are the good, but not perfect jerseys released this season.
Tier 1: Perfection
These are the cream of the crop. Other teams should be taking notes.
Thoughts?
This is as subjective a topic as any. What do you agree with? What do you disagree with?
Let us know in the comment sections both in the article and on social media.