Ten NHL Jerseys That Are So Ugly They’re Beautiful

Today, however, we will not be looking at the classic jerseys, or even the plain ugly ones. Today, we will be looking at the jerseys that are so ugly and horrendous, that they are actually pretty amazing.

The criteria for this list is that it had to be worn for at least one NHL game. That’s it. Unfortunately, this excludes the amazingly bold “Trumpet jersey” featured above that the St. Louis Blues almost wore in 1996.

This list is in no particular order as each one of these jerseys are amazingly awful in their own way.

Let’s begin!

Tampa Bay Lighting: Storm Jersey

The Tampa Bay Lightning debuted this jersey in the 1997-97 season and man, is it something. There is so much going on in this jersey so let’s take some time to analyze this one.

The first thing you’d probably notice is the waves forming at the bottom of the jersey. Whoever made this really turned the jersey into a canvas and made a nature scene with it. The rain drops coming in from the jersey also add a sense of realism and ties the whole jersey together. The lightning bolts on the sleeves also add a nice touch because, well…they are called the Lighting, and this jersey really shows that.

NHL Hall of Famer Wendel Clark was forced to wear this monstrosity. Maybe that’s why he only lasted one season in Tampa Bay.

Dallas Stars: Bull Jersey

The mid-2000s was a fun time in hockey. There was an enormous amount of talent in the league, games were physical and the jerseys were bold. The Dallas Stars really took the last part of that list to heart after creating these jerseys.

Having a bull’s head as a logo makes a lot of sense for a team located in Dallas. Everything else here featured on this jersey…not so much. Let’s start with the logo. It kind of looks like a diagram you would get in a high school health class. I understand what they were trying to go for, but it really doesn’t work well when put into practice. The Stars have a very cool color scheme of black, green and white with some gold mixed in there. This leaves me wondering why they decided to have red on this jersey. Where did that come from? This jersey is a perfect example of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” but at least this attempt is memorable.

You can spot NHL stars Mike Modano, Marty Turco and Brenden Morrow sporting these jerseys.

Calgary Flames: The Flaming Horse Head

Okay. I’m going to be the one to say it, these jerseys are awesome. They’re weird, but nonetheless, awesome!

There is nothing wrong with the color scheme of this jersey. The red, black and yellow looks really clean and these are all colors that the flames are known for using. The part that makes this jersey weird is the flaming horse head. Much like the Dallas Stars jersey, I understand what they were going for, I just don’t think it worked well when put into practice. The horse can definitely strike fear into it’s opposition, but it can also give it’s opposition the idea that it could be under the influence. Other than that, this jersey is great.

Jarome Iginla can be seen sporting this jersey on the cover of NHL 03.

Los Angeles Kings: Burger King Jersey

The Los Angeles Kings had some of the nicest jersey’s the NHL has ever seen in the 1990s. Those black, white and silver jerseys are iconic and timeless, which makes it even more troubling to understand how the Kings went from those, to these.

Where do you even start when talking about these jerseys? Everything about them is so bad yet beautiful. The gradient in the grey design they have going on was so 90’s it’s perfect. The purple and yellow lettering is loud and obnoxious. The worst part about this jersey, however, is the Burger King himself on the top left of the jersey. The fact that the logo isn’t front and center should be criminal, a beard should not be purple and did they not realize they made him look like the Burger King? All of these elements together make the perfect mess, and it’s just wonderful.

To make things worse, the best player in NHL history, Wayne Gretzky, had to wear this mess in his final season as a King. It’s probably what led to him being traded to the St. Louis Blues.

Nashville Predators: Golden Mustard jerseys

It’s pretty remarkable how long these jerseys lasted. From 2001 until 2007, these were the alternate jerseys of the Nashville Predators.

Let’s start with the color. What is that? Gold? Golden yellow? Golden mustard? I couldn’t tell you. Whatever it is, it does not look good. Now to that logo. The predators have always had a great logo. It’s creative, unique and just plain epic. So what exactly were they doing when this jersey was designed? The Saber-Tooth Lion (if that’s what this is supposed to be) looks possessed. Looking into those eyes long enough is nightmare fuel. In short, this jersey is hilariously bad and the Predators should consider bringing it back.

All-Star and future Hall of Fame defense-man Shea Weber wore these jerseys in his rookie season. What a welcome to the show that must have been.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks: The Flying Duck

The infamous flying duck jerseys! The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim used these for only one season in 1995-96 but don’t we all wish it lasted longer?

The front of these jerseys look like a page from a comic book. The duck looks heroic and strong, which is exactly what you look for in a hockey player. The only question I have is if this jersey was designed for children? Not only does it look like it’s from a comic book, but it also looks like the screenshot from an epic cartoon intro. The final verdict is it is an awesome design, I just can’t believe this was on an NHL jersey.

NHL Greats Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne both wore this jersey.

New York Islanders: Fisher-Man Jersey

The New York Islanders have many jerseys that could have been featured on this list. They’re jersey history has not been ideal, but these jerseys featured from 1995 to 1997 are by far the worst.

The fisher-man featured on the front of the jersey has now become iconic, even though he looks like he should be on a box of frozen fish sticks. The design on the bottom of the jersey is interesting at best. The blue and orange is fine, but adding the aqua color just throws off the whole thing. Can we talk about that design? I guess it’s supposed to resemble waves in the ocean, but Tampa Bay did that much better in their jerseys. Overall, these are just iconic for being very ugly.

Wendel Clark was also forced to wear this jersey for a season. Not the best jersey luck for him.

Boston Bruins: Teddy Bear Jerseys

The second yellow jersey on the list belongs to the Boston Bruins, who wore these threads for nearly a decade…yup.

The Boston Bruins have always had a sharp looking jersey, so seeing them have this jersey is shocking. The Bruins have so much potential to have an intimidating logo on their jersey. Instead, they went with a teddy bear design. The design at the bottom of the jersey is also very confusing. I’m not too sure what they were trying to go for but I’m sure we can agree it just does not work.

Ray Bourque, one of the best blue-liners of all time, wore this jersey.

Vancouver Canucks: Red Blade

The normal Vancouver Canucks jerseys with the “Blade” logo are classics and some of the best of best of all time.What were they thinking when they came out with these in 1995?

There are no complaints about the logo on this jersey. It’s everything else about this jersey that’s not right. The fact that half the jersey is red and the other half is black is not a good look. Just pick a color! It would look so much better if they actually had a primary color on this jersey. The gradient is a nice touch on the jersey to show just how 1990’s it is.

Canucks legends Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure can be seen sporting these.

Atlanta Thrashers: Basketball Jerseys

The final jersey on this list is the Atlanta Hawks styled Atlanta Thrashers jersey. The Thrashers sported this jersey from 2008 until they moved to Winnipeg.

This is a tough jersey to understand. Why is there numbers where the logo is supposed to be? Also, where is the logo? The colors on this really don’t work well either. The burgundy and blue does not go well together and should never be a thing. In short, this is a basketball jersey pretending to be a hockey jersey and it just is not right.

Dustin Byfuglien and Ilya Kovalchuk both wore these jerseys. That’s probably why Kovalchuk left.

Final Thoughts

All of these jerseys have a special place in the hearts of many hockey fans. They may not be the best looking jerseys, but they are unique and special in their own ways. So let’s continue to embrace the ugliness together!

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